


Born to Die

by Vicarious



Series: Gravity [2]
Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Incredible Hulk (2008), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-03
Updated: 2012-12-16
Packaged: 2017-11-17 16:04:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/553368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vicarious/pseuds/Vicarious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Your Heart is an Empty Room. </p><p>Since their last adventure, Bruce and Darcy have been going out, and so far, it’s been great. There’s just one little intimacy problem that’s standing between them…that, and one vengeful Norse God. Can the couple overcome their own conflicts, stay true to their friends, and outwit Loki? The trickster has big plans to interrupt Thor’s engagement and get revenge on the Avenger's precious Earth. The unlucky common denominator is Darcy. Can her relationships stand to be tested, or were they too good to be true and born to die? </p><p>This may be their hardest battle yet. Load your taser, Darcy Lewis. You’re going to need it.</p><p>Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Adventure</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So Part 1 is not required, but highly recommended.

  
The Destroyer moved through Puente Antiguo, piles of metal and ash in its wake. All inhabitants had fled, with only three mortals remaining. Sif and the Warrior’s Three lay defeated, scattered in the streets. Thor lay broken, his life draining from him. Now, only the scientist, the doctor, and the student stood in the center of the street. The doctor’s eyes flashed the briefest of blue as he regarded The Destroyer, nodding. The Destroyer turned to the scientist, metal churning as fire grew and rumbled inside it.  
  
The sky darkened as the fires in the town turned green. Jane howled and cried at Thor’s side, his worn body in her arms. Selvig rushed to Jane’s side, and she saw The Destroyer begin to fire at her. Darcy cried out her friend’s name, but her voice failed her, replaced with silence. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to scream for Jane and Selvig to run from the towering machine before her. The rumbling emerald fire crackled in its faceless pit before being swallowed down by steel. A different fear overcame her then, an invasive, subtle, and perverse terror that consumed her. It ran cold in her veins and crawled under her skin as she looked up at The Destroyer, watching it vanish. As the town disappeared from around her, engulfed in flames, she heard a sinister voice.  
  
 _I’ve found you_  
  
Darcy woke up, gasping for breath. She felt the flush of body heat and constricting sheets, binding her in place. It took several moments for her to free herself and sit up in bed, wiping her face of sweat. She cradled her head in her hands as she pulled her knees up her chest, breathing slowly. Her boyfriend stirred beside her.  
  
“What’s up?” Bruce asked lazily, breathing in deeply as his brows pulled together. He reached out across the sheets to feel Darcy in the darkness. His hand brushed against her side gingerly, moving around to the small of her back, resting over her oversized pajama shirt.  Darcy was silent for a little while longer, pushing the thoughts from her mind.  
  
“Just a bad dream.” She said quietly, as if it would become more real if she spoke above a whisper. Bruce sat up and moved beside her, crossing his legs and rubbing her back as she recovered in her pensive state.  
  
“I know all about those.” He said just as softly, as he moved both hands over her back, then her shoulders, and back down again. He worked his palms steadily against her shoulders, eliciting a small murmur from her. “Want to talk about it?”  
  
Darcy snorted. “Nah.” She declared loudly, breaking the eerie darkness of Bruce’s bedroom. She stretched out her legs as she reclined against Bruce’s bare chest. “The Doctor Banner prescription is for snuggles.” She purred, tilting her head up to catch a glimpse of his smile in the shadowy room. His arms wrapped around her, settling on her navel. She could feel his heartbeat pound against her back, and she relaxed at the feeling.  
  
“I’m not that kind of doctor.” He chuckled softly and she could feel the reverberation in his chest.  
  
“Also kisses.” She murmured. Darcy breathed in deeply as she rest her head against him, his chest hair tickling at her nose.  
  
“Doctor Bruce Banner, M.D. it is, then.” He said charmingly, lowering his head down to catch her lips in a soft, lingering kiss. Darcy broke it by accident, smiling contently into it, but quickly amended it by initiating another. She loved his kisses. Like him, they were deliberate, gentle, and intimate. Soft at first, but with a hidden intensity that left her longing. She twisted to face him in his lap and hummed as she caught his lower lip between hers. Bruce kissed the tip of Darcy’s nose and she giggled as he pulled her down against the bed.  
  
As if it had always been this way, he wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. He kissed up the side of her face slowly, and she couldn’t help but grin as his stubble tickled her skin. His clothed leg moved over hers, and she could feel his toes wiggle against hers in jest. She returned it, her foot moving up to his ankle. She felt the elastic band that acted as a tracking device. For a moment, she paused, but the tension and dread that filled her moments before quickly seeped away under his affection, and her breath left her unsteadily as she was swept from one intensity to another.  
  
As the kisses trailed back to her lips, she met his with fervency and need. It quickly deepened and Darcy moved to roll on top of him, straddling him. Bruce uttered a soft groan into her mouth, his fingers pressing into her sides. Darcy felt a dizzying wave of anticipation, pulling her into Bruce as she kissed him. She ran her fingers through his hair, and they curled with need as she lightly tugged at the curls on the nape of his neck. His hands stayed firmly at her side, though after a moan left her lips and moved to his, she felt an almost imperceptible push from his hands. She paused, and sat up, looking down at Bruce, breathless.  
  
“What time is it?” He asked, quickly moving his hands over his face. He slowly inhaled and exhaled before pulling his hands away as Darcy struggled to maintain her place on his lap while leaning across the bed and reaching for her cell phone. She fumbled in the dark and dropped it, hearing it tumble across the floor. She mumbled curses before crawling and leaning over the bed, pressing buttons on her phone that illuminated the darkness.  
  
“Fuuuuuu---rrrryyyy.” She corrected herself as she tossed her phone several feet away and near fell off the edge of the bed, face first. Bruce moved quickly to grasp her by the hips, pulling her back onto the bed. She slumped forward, sighing.  
  
“Time?”  
  
“Time for me to get home and get ready to forfeit my soul to the government.” Darcy grumbled. Bruce chuckled and nuzzled against the crook of her neck, kissing the bare skin of her shoulder.  
  
“Thank you for spending the night. It was nice to sleep next to you. Even if you snore.” He teased, moving back from her as she playfully swiped her fingers through the air in his direction. Darcy slid out of the bed reluctantly, standing up. She looked around his room, her eyes now adjusting to the dark. Spacious and tidy, and much larger than what Bruce was used to, Darcy found it a bit lonely. Even still, Darcy found herself wanting to bury herself under the covers and curl up to her boyfriend, never wanting to leave Stark Tower. She glanced over to the small portrait, sitting on his nightdesk stacked upon several books. She smirked as she looked over the smiling couple in the photo and then looked back to Bruce.  
  
“Next movie is Men in Black. Then you’ll get approximately twenty percent of the bad office jokes.” Darcy smiled as she pulled down her pajama pants. Bruce averted her gaze and she held in a sigh, quickly moving to change into her previous day’s wear. “Safe.” She added, and Bruce’s visual attention returned.  
  
“Look forward to it. Do you want me to call you a cab?” He sat up, moving to the edge of the bed. Darcy made a face in thought before shaking her head. She quickly moved about the room, shoving her makeshift nightwear into a tattered messenger bag. She pulled a hat out, forcing it to suppress her messy bed-head.  
  
“The last thing I want is for some random cabbie to think I’m making the walk of shame from Stark’s bedroom. I can take the subway. It’s what tasers are for.” Darcy shrugged.  
  
“What about my bedroom?” Bruce asked.  
  
“Then it wouldn’t be a walk of shame. Whenever that times comes.” She quickly brushed her lips against his and pulled back, swinging her bag over her shoulder. He smiled up at her.  
  
“See you at work, Miss Lewis.”  
  
“Doctor Banner.” She tipped her hat to him and winked before picking up her phone and moving out the bedroom door. As she quietly moved through the dark halls of StarkTower, she couldn’t shake the feeling that lingered in from her dream, of someone watching and waiting.  She shivered as she was met with chilled October air, peering out into the early morning darkness with hesitation.


	2. Chapter 2

  
  
“So you and Banner, huh?” Tony Stark asked, leaning against Darcy’s office desk. He was probably avoiding a meeting, she thought, and with a quick flip through a pile papers, that theory was confirmed. She glanced up at him to see him play with his phone. It was too early for this, she thought, before realizing it was just past noon. She almost mentally amended her statement, but decided that it was perpetually too early for Darcy to deal with the eccentric billionaire. She should have blocked him from stepping into her office while she was working, but she still had the knee-jerk reaction of ‘Oh my god, it’s Tony Stark’.  
  
Darcy had first signed on under SHIELD only weeks after her graduation from Culver. It was barely a month after the incident in New York. It made sense, that the charismatic and quirky intern, who had previous experience with SHIELD’s finest would come to work under Phil Coulson. At the time, she didn’t understand why he was slow moving and needed moments to breathe or why he tensed every time the Asgardian named Loki was mentioned. After Jane Foster had returned from Tromsø, Darcy was hired on. She didn’t give much thought to it, she was wrecked with student debt and the looming failed job market. The post-grad saw superheroes, a life of luxury in the Big Apple, and a chance to do something with her life. She soon learned it was anything, but. The work was demanding, most people in the city were jerks, and she spent the first three months being referred to as ‘Thor’s girlfriend’s intern’.  
  
Even when she was introduced to the Avengers, most seemed hesitant. She already knew Thor, but Thor wouldn’t return until the late summer, not until Jane fashioned a fix to the Bifrost on her end using Chitauri technology. Even then, Thor was quick to move between worlds and even quicker to move to Jane’s side further up the Northern Seaboard. Steve Rogers was an instant sweetheart, but refused to call her anything but Miss Lewis. Natasha Romanoff, cool as ice, regarded her kindly, but always seemed to have better things to do. She got along with Clint Barton, but he kept everyone but Natasha at an arm’s length. When she was introduced to Tony Stark, she tripped over her feet and yelled “I did my senior thesis on foreign policy and Iron Man!”. Tony only told her that of course she did and thus began a love/hate relationship in the office. Darcy loved to fawn over the him, as he was her long-standing personal hero and Tony loved the admiration, but work demanded that she be strict with him and he made it as difficult as possible to get work done. Darcy wanted to hold onto the theory that he had a thing for women in charge. It was only on her witty banter back at him did she gain any sort of personal respect from him, but it came at the cost of abiding his personality.  
  
“Me and Banner.” She confirmed, pausing to take a sip of coffee. Despite it being her ritualistic beverage of choice, she doubly needed it today after her funky restless sleep. The second she set down her cup, Tony took it from her to take a hearty gulp. He stuck his tongue out in distaste after setting it back down on her desk. Darcy protectively hoarded it closer to herself.  
  
At long last, there was Bruce Banner, who she had been introduced to. She remembered the footage of him that wrecked her college campus just a year before she began to attend. Several people petitioned for The Hulk to be Culver’s mascot. It was shut down, but was always a talking point among the students. So when class was interrupted because of an attack in New York City, and laptops were quickly turned from note-taking to live feeds of the footage, the class cheered that their unofficial mystery superhero was saving the day alongside Iron Man. When Darcy met him in the office, the shy scientist barely looked at her as he typed on the keyboard. Most SHIELD workers dodged him in the halls, glanced away from him nervously, and giggled behind his back. For most, it seemed like ‘Bruce’ and ‘Hulk’ were intertwined. For Darcy, who exchanged glances and smiles with him in the breakroom, they seemed impossibly far apart.  
  
That was the case until recently. It was just over one month ago that Darcy was assigned to babysit the scientist as they went out to Montana, to research a radiation claim. Originally, it was a ruse to keep Bruce away from Betty Ross’s wedding, but it turned out to be part of a greater scheme, involving HYDRA. The Avengers, one by one, were craftily led away from New York to leave it vulnerable to attack. Bruce and Darcy had quite the adventure and became quick companions, followed by something more. When they returned and the dust had settled in the city, they went to the reprised wedding of Betty Ross, and the two had begun dating from there on out.  
  
“Are you like his keeper or something? Or maybe he’s yours?” Darcy pressed her lips together in a smirk. After word got out of her and Bruce dating, almost everyone had something to say about it. It ranged from cautious words of advice to cheerful wishes of happiness. Since then, Tony had been away either in Malibu or locked away in recesses of Stark Tower. So now they were having the ‘You’re dating my friend’ talk.  
  
“Hm, nice try, but my only keeper is Pepper -- don’t let her know I said that. Thing about Banner is, I know he’s had some ups and downs, more downs than ups really, I just want to make sure he’s... You know what, forget about it. I’ll set you up, a nice dinner on the town. You don’t break his heart and leave him for broke and we’ll call it a deal.” He rambled, eyes on his phone, as he waved his free hand.  
  
Darcy raised her brows as she looked up to Tony. “So the rumors are true. Tony Stark has a heart, after all.”  
  
“Yeah, try not to let that one leave the building.” He muttered.  
  
“I get what you’re saying. It’s sweet, and no I won’t tell anyone that you’re a secret softie.  Tony, I really like Bruce. I’m not going to hurt him.” Darcy smiled to herself as she looked over to her open Skype window, a message waiting for her.  
  
B.Banner: Lunch today?         12:11 P.M.                                                                                                                           
  
She quickly typed up a response.  
  
Darcy L: Sure thing. As soon as Stark stops badgering me about you and gets back to work... like that’s going to happen, right? Btw, today’s taco tuesday.  Hey, why aren’t you at the meeting?        12:14 P.M.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
  
“I guess Banner _would_ like the nerdy chick. What happened in Missouri? Montana?” He hummed as he began to access very secure SHIELD files. Darcy guessed he was going to ignore her comments and move straight ahead in conversation.  
  
“Montana.” She answered, but again, he didn’t seem to notice. Darcy leaned forward to see what he was doing instead of paying attention.  
  
Her face flashed by on the screen of his phone, followed by photos of Whitecreek, Bruce, HYDRA, and the cabin site. “So what did you do? Dark magic? Deal with the devil? Show him your goods? Is he repressed? I bet he’s repressed. Makes sense, really. Freak in the bed, into BDSM? What is it, roleplay? He makes you be the Hulk, I’m sure of it now that I think about it. Sounds about right. Wait, wait, wait. You haven’t done it, yet. You’re not some creepy wait for marriage type are you? Where’s the purity ring?”  
  
“You know I _did_ spend the night at Stark Tower last night.” Darcy rolled her eyes.  
  
“I’m well aware,” He tried suppressing a yawn, biting his teeth together in an annoying chatter, “but you didn’t _sleep_ with him.” Tony shrugged.  
  
“Ew, do you bug his room with cameras? You’re gross.” She picked up the first thing she found on her desk, a stack of neon multi-colored sticky notes, and threw it at him. They rebounded off him and fell to the floor as he flinched. He made another pass for Darcy’s coffee and she pulled it closer to herself.  
  
“ _No_ , though I can’t say JARVIS isn’t listening. Guy has a mind of his own. That’s the thing with AIs, very tricky. I can see why people are fearing the whole robot overlord thing, but they’ll have to contend with you to begin with.  First bringing Thunderdome down, now me. Do you always have a penchant for violence? That sure is going to be useful when you go toe to toe with Banner’s big --” Tony dodged a plastic box of paperclips. “I was going to say big, green, alter ego.”  
  
“So, how are you so _sure_? Is there another superpower you’re not telling me about? Should I send Coulson a memo? What do you think your superhero name would be if you were infamous for office harassment and gossip? Hmm...” Darcy tilted her head to the side as she looked up at Tony in challenge.  
  
Tony turned to face her and raised his eyebrows. “You’re questioning me on sex. Do you want to go a round on mechanical engineering? Oh, how about physics, or running a world market, _Agent Lewis_? And now you’re out of office supplies.” He pushed a cup of pens out of her reach.  
  
Darcy liked bantering with Tony. At least, that was her mantra so she wouldn’t poke him full of holes with things on her desk. She knew that he was just looking out for Bruce and his well-being, but how that spiraled into her sex-life was something only Tony Stark could achieve. While it was true that while they hadn’t slept together, it wasn’t any more of his business. Darcy supposed that she often poked fun at Jane in the same way. She pressed her lips together in defeat.  
  
“Someone’s concerned with Bruce’s sex life. Is that a science bro thing, or does this mean I have competition?” She snorted, averting her attention back to her monitor as Tony returned to playing with his phone. A message was waiting for her.  
  
B.Banner:  Don’t let him give you a hard time. He has a knack for trying to get a rise out of people. Well, the meeting is only a debriefing for emergency tactical procedures. The other guy doesn’t do ‘tactic’, so it’s a moot point. It’s fine. I have stuff in the lab that needs to get done. Tacos sound good.        12:16 P.M.

  
“A knack? Well I prefer to call it personal genius. Do you only do Coulson’s bidding or do you also pick up lunch? Not sure when I ate last. I’ll do tacos. Or maybe burritos. Hell, let’s do both.” Tony turned suddenly, pocketing his phone. Darcy’s face turned incredulous. Tony didn’t skip a beat.  
  
“Hey, if you want to sext or cyber or whatever you kids call it these days, then go for it, but the network? Not secure. The last thing you want is your dick making the rounds on employee emails, but you know what, scratch that, mine looks good, so there’s no shame, but I don’t think poor Banner could take that sort of embarrassment. Unless he’s into that, but you wouldn’t know because-- Oh come on, not fair. It’s going to take at least two minutes to get into Sprint’s data network.”  
  
Darcy quickly pulled out her phone to text Bruce, her other hand pulling open a desk drawer.  
  
[12: 17 P.M.] Brb murdering the CEO of Stark Industries.  
  
“You know what the perk to being Coulson’s assistant is?” She asked as she set down her phone.  
  
“Hm?” Tony looked over to her. Darcy held up a taser, pressing the button down so it would emit a loud crackling noise that made Tony jump a foot clear from her desk.  
  
“Starts with a _T_ , ends with an _R_.”  
  
“Terror?” Tony snorted.  
  
“ _Taser._ ” Darcy corrected.  
  
“You’re soulless.” Tony crossed his arms, acting affronted.  
  
“That’s the requirement for being SHIELD’s lackey.” She shrugged, looking over the weapon in her hand. “So if I tasered you, would it be like revving up the energizer bunny or would it --”  
  
“Murder me?” Tony waved a hand to his chest as he walked back from her desk. He turned quickly to examine the finer details of her office. Though Coulson has advised her otherwise, she had decorated her office with Avengers paraphernalia, and Tony was eyeing himself in a cardboard cutout. He threw his arm around himself and looked over at cardboard Iron Man, tilting his head back to Darcy, brows raised.  
  
“I guess I have to have someone harassing me.” Darcy pressed her tongue the the back of her teeth as she rolled her eyes. She set the weapon on the desk before getting up from her desk to pick up the supplies that she had chucked at him.  
  
“What’s that?” He asked, squatting down to pick up the sticky notes, tossing them for Darcy to catch. She looked over to her calendar on the wall.  
  
“Jane and Thor are in Asgard, talking their engagement over with the parents.” She looked down at the sticky notes in her hand, tossing the pad over. She pulled a pen from her pocket, scribbled on the pad, and stuck the topmost note to the date on the calendar, two weeks from today. _Jane and Thor return from Asgard!_  
  
“Yikes.” Tony was clearly put-off by the idea. He picked up the box of paperclips, popped the top, and began linking the clips together.  
  
“What, you’re not going to marry Pepper? Have kids?” Darcy laughed as Tony took the link of paper clips to form handcuffs around his wrists.  
  
“Well it’s not like you’re going to have any baby Banners at this rate.” Tony stuffed the link of clips into the box, shook it, and tossed it to Darcy. She caught it and set it down on her desk.  
  
“Taser’s right here. Just saying.”  Darcy tapped her fingers against her desk.  
  
“Or you could just talk to him,” Tony rubbed his nose as he looked away. “If there was trouble in paradise.”  
  
Darcy paused. Tony was a lot of things that would grate even the most relaxed of people, but he was also incredibly smart, and whether he would like to admit it or not, caring. She wanted to tell herself that there wasn’t a problem. She enjoyed her time with Bruce, all of it, no matter what they were doing. But she knew Bruce was evading her on a more intimate level and Tony seemed to know it too. Maybe there weren’t robots watching her every move. Maybe it was just him being empathetic and intuitive towards his friends. ... Or maybe it was the robots.  
  
“Thanks, Holmes.” Darcy said as coolly as she could, attempting to hide her smile.  
  
“Elementary, Watson.” He waved his hand nonchalantly. “Just looking out for the big guy and the office brat.” He smiled at her before pushing his shades down over his eyes. That was when Bruce Banner burst into the room, out of breath.  
  
“Don’t tase hi-. Don’t tase Tony. Office regulations. Insurance... too much.” He breathed, one hand on his knee as he doubled over, the other arm outstretched. Tony raised his brows, looking over his shades to Darcy.


	3. Chapter 3

“Okay, so technically I’m not allowed to harm employees. That includes tasering, but it’s not really harm if you think about it. More like temporarily incapacitate.”  
  
“Patchy doesn’t do that definition, does he?” Tony asked.  
  
“I think he prefers to go by Director Fury.” Darcy quipped.  
  
Bruce looked up at Darcy, his wired glasses falling to the tip of his nose.  
  
“Speak of the devil.” Tony glanced over to Bruce with a wry smile, before slapping his shoulder as he stood straight up.  
  
“Causing problems, Tony?” Bruce smirked over at him, who returned the look with a grin.   
  
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Scouts honor.” Tony held up two fingers, then three, then two. He had clearly never been a scout. Bruce corrected him by holding up three.  
  
“Where did you learn that, science camp?” Tony asked.  
  
“Yeah, you should have been there.” Bruce replied, steadying his breath.    
  
“I was trying to figure out how to save the world, run a company, you know.” Tony shrugged.   
  
“Understandable.”   
  
“Good. Glad we’ve come to a conclusion.”  
  
“Are you guys going to kiss?” Darcy asked slyly, interrupting them. They both turned to see that she had already stashed away her taser. Bruce snickered as Tony pursed his lips towards him.  
  
“You’re lucky I didn’t find you sprawled on the floor.” Bruce smiled.  
  
“Yeah, your girlfriend’s a little spunky.” Tony said without glancing back to Darcy, who raised a brow. She wanted to remind them that she was still in the room, but Bruce’s expression caught her attention. He smiled widely, almost embarrassed. He pressed his hands together as his cheeks flushed, giving a nervous chuckle. _Girlfriend_ made him happy, she knew. Darcy’s eyes lit up as she watched.  
  
“Yeah, she is.” He reflected warmly. His thoughts seemed to distract him momentarily, but he quickly returned back to the conversation. He slapped the back of his hand lightly to Tony’s arm. “And my friend is an ass.”  
  
“Looks like you _can_ have it all.” Tony spread his arms as he turned on his heel, gracefully pivoting around Bruce. “Good luck, love birds.” He rapped his knuckles against the door before sauntering out of Darcy’s office.  
  
“Sleeping doesn’t hurt, you know!” Darcy shouted after him. She got no response.   
  
“I don’t know how you can live with him and not have an incident. You’re like the patron saint of Stark Tower.” Darcy leaned forward in her chair. Bruce laughed, approaching her desk. She wiggled her fingers as she reached across until he linked his fingers with hers. He sat on the edge and held onto her fingers.  
  
“I think Pepper Potts holds that title. You know, I don’t mind Tony. It’s kind of welcoming after all these years of being alone. He gives me the pushes I need, I think.” Bruce explained slowly as he watched the way their fingers intertwined. Darcy glanced away briefly. She wondered if Tony was giving her a necessary push to talk to Bruce. That, or he was being a sleep-deprived jerk.   
  
“Well, I think you deserve a reward.” She leaned forward to catch her lips against his. He breathed out slowly as the kiss broke, causing Darcy to shiver as it tickled her lips. She glanced over his lips again under a lidded gaze before recapturing the kiss. Bruce responded slowly, gently, intimately. She could feel a downward tug in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, she reached out with both arms and wrapped them around his shoulders, pulling him across the surface of her desk and down into her chair as she sunk into it. Bruce followed her down into the kiss, his hands gripping at the desk to brace himself.   
  
It wasn’t until her shoulders relaxed and she let out a pent-up moan into his mouth that she realized just how stressed she was. There was the endless paperwork that needed to be done, Tony’s badgering, Jane and Thor away on another world, the small rift between her and Bruce, and her lack of sleep. Now, she knew she was in dire need of some Bruce affection. But even that thought slipped from her mind as Bruce returned the passionate kiss. A shiver trailed down her spine as she heard Bruce groan against her tongue. Her fingers twisted into the curls at the nape of his neck before he mumbled against her lips. Darcy paused as he leaned back, her hands falling from his body. He looked frustrated and ashamed.   
  
Darcy looked up at him, mouth agape. “Sorry, I just don’t think we should be fooling around at work.” Bruce tried not to frown and pocketed his hands. “Lunch?” He asked as he stepped back from her desk.   
  
Darcy swallowed. She could see how uncomfortable he was. It was just like this morning, she thought, when Bruce distracted her. Something was _wrong_ , but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Tony was right. They needed to talk, but relationship talks in a super spy agency wasn’t the best logical move. Darcy needed to clear her head, and she yearned for a distraction. From the confusion, from Tony’s words plaguing her thoughts, and the indescribable feeling of unease from her lack of sleep. Her imperfect distraction looked back at her, waiting expectantly.   
  
“Yeah, let’s blow this popsicle stand.” She clocked out, grabbed her bag and linked her arm into Bruce’s.  
  
Darcy was glad she was under what was left of her extended lunch hour month. She had to leverage it with Coulson after being hospitalized during the HYDRA attack, which wasn’t easy. Usually her lunch hour was spent dashing out of SHIELD’s office, taking the subway and grabbing something to go during lunch hour, scarfing it down on the subway back, then squeezing through the crowd of agents back at work. The building was _huge_ , and although most of its important contents were underground, it still loomed over the city. Darcy’s office was on the 33rd floor, while Bruce’s lab was 20 floors and some below and it often took them awhile to get coordinated and meet on the ground floor, with just enough time to leave, get lunch and actually be able to sit, talk, and then return to work. In just a few days though, it was back to the hustle and bustle, and Darcy realized she would have to start investing in bagged lunch if she was going to keep having lunch hour with Bruce. She wondered if she could make him something, because she was sure he would forget to eat, otherwise.  
  
The elevator paused on its way down to the lobby floor, and a familiar man boarded. He didn’t seem to notice her at first, face into the manilla folder labeled _Foster Project._ Bruce noticed him too, but waited politely for Darcy to begin the conversation.  
  
“Doctor Selvig!” Darcy smiled, placing her hand to the man’s back. Erik jumped in fright, pulling the folder to his chest.  
  
“Christ.” He breathed as he backed against the wall. Darcy’s brows pulled together in concern. “Oh,” He said in realization. “Darcy!” He smiled, though Darcy could tell he was still shaking. He leaned forward and patted her on the shoulder and smiled before looking up to Bruce. “Doctor Banner! It’s been a while, both of you.”  
  
“I thought you said SHIELD was a bunch of bullies.” Darcy raised her brow.  
  
“And you said SHIELD was a bunch of Apple-product stealing assholes.” Erik laughed, his unease disappearing. Darcy’s curiosity and concerned remained.  
  
“They are!” Darcy defended as she pushed her hands into her pockets of her sweater, pulling them out like small wings in her shrug.   
  
“Yeah, they’re still bullies alright, but it’s harder and harder not to get tangled up in their mess these days. They’re trying to appropriate Jane’s Einstein-Rosen Bridge project, because it contains Chitauri weaponry. That’s classified, so they want it back. I’m trying to keep their greedy hands off it. No offense.” He shook his head in disgust.  
  
“Isn’t Doctor Foster an employee of SHIELD?” Bruce asked as the elevator slowly descended. The floors stopped intermittently, suits and sunglasses boarding on and off as they spoke.  
  
“Temporary. Like a consulting scientist.” Darcy added. The pop culture reference was missed by the two scientists, but it worked well enough to get the point across. Darcy mentally noted to watch Sherlock with Bruce one night.   
  
“She’s not far up enough the chain to be trusted, they said. Not even the Avengers have that sort of leverage.” Erik said with a sigh.   
  
“Technically I have more access than Stark.” Darcy pointed out, then added. “But that doesn’t stop him.”   
  
“Yeah, they kind of have all of us on a leash. Some shorter than others.” Bruce said. Darcy could see him anxiously rub at his wrists and she was quick to slid her hand into his. She could feel his fingers tighten around hers.   
  
“What can you do?” Darcy asked.   
  
“Argue for her as much as I can. It’s her invention, but they don’t care. But with her engagement to Thor, she has as much right as anyone to use it. Once she gets back, she’ll give them hell and then some, but in the meantime...” Erik shrugged, waving the folder about.   
  
“The bifrost could be dangerous if it landed in the wrong hands.” Bruce said hesitantly.  
  
“Whose? _The government?_ Ha!” Erik scoffed, looking around at the uncomfortable agents in the elevator he was incidentally insulting. He rolled his eyes.  
  
“How are you?” Darcy asked, distracting him from possibly being escorted from the building.   
  
“Cranky and double-crossed.” Erik replied, side-eyeing the agents in the elevator. He turned his gaze back to Darcy, shaking his head. “Tired. Just tired. Haven’t been sleeping well.”  
  
“You and me both.” Darcy closed her eyes for a small moment as she raised her brows.   
  
“What’s keeping you from getting sleep, Doctor?” Bruce asked. Darcy turned to look up at Bruce, then to Erik.  
  
“ _Dreams_.” He responded in a low voice.   
  
“Dreams?” Darcy asked, just as quiet. As the word left her lips, she felt an intense feeling of foreboding. The same chill passed over her that caused her to jolt from her sleep, the same feeling that haunted her as she stepped out into the pre-dawn night in front of Stark tower. She shivered.  
  
“Can’t remember them, that’s the thing. Just bits and pieces feel familiar. There’s just something about them that bothers me. Like I’m being _watched_.” Erik sighed and shook his head. “Well, nothing my psychiatrist and a bottle of Ambien won’t fix.” He shrugged his shoulders, helplessly. Darcy let go of Bruce’s hand to wrap her arms around the older man’s neck, pulling him in for a sympathetic hug. Erik Selvig was almost like a second father to her. Or third father, if she counted Coulson. She was getting a lot of dads with the whole superhero business thing.   
  
Then, the elevator dinged as it reached the the lobby floor.  
  
“This is us.” Bruce pointed. “It was good seeing you, Doctor Selvig. Hope you feel better.” He placed a hand of Darcy’s shoulder as they both stepped from the elevator.  
  
“Enjoy your Ambien!” Darcy smirked and waved as the doors closed, cutting their view.  
  
She could feel Bruce rub her shoulder sympathetically. “Looks like you’re not the only one with nightmares.” He sighed quietly.  
  
“Taco time.” Darcy announced, pulling Bruce out the door, wanting to not waste any more of her precious time with him worrying over stray bad feelings and the thoughts of bad dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this chapter is a little short, so I'll update the next chapter in ~3 days.


	4. Chapter 4

  
  
The small alcove, formerly an insurance office now turned _Taco Tom’s_ , sat under the towering business buildings, teeming with businessmen, tourists and college kids. Shouts of order numbers came in constant streams as paper baskets of burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and nachos were placed at the back of the restaurant. Darcy and Bruce were lucky to grab one of the few plastic booth tables that lined the wall after ordering from the long line that extended to the patio.  
  
“Doctor Selvig said he was seeing a therapist. Are you still seeing yours?” Bruce asked.  
  
“Maybe. Possibly. ...No? No.” Darcy responded as she rubbed her mouth with a napkin, crinkling it up in her hand and tossing it onto the plastic counter.  
  
“They weren’t very helpful, were they?” He asked. She knew that Bruce had been on a rotating door with human resources, psychiatry, and therapists ever since he had signed on to SHIELD. Of course he had little success with them, but last time Darcy checked, her problems paled in comparison to his, and she didn’t turn into a giant monster and murder people every time she got upset.  
  
“The shrink wasn’t that bad, she just thought I was kind of...completely... weird.” Darcy shrugged. “And she kept wanting me to do dumb role play exercises and breathing techniques and she wanted me to go on a _diet._ ” Darcy rolled her eyes as she bit into her cheesy bean burrito. “I mean,” She waved her hand as she struggled to swallow when she bit off more than she could chew. “The thing with HYDRA was scary as hell, and I had nightmares and stuff from stress, but sleep dep, that’s just part of the job description.” Darcy shrugged, trying to play it off as lightly as she could. Bruce didn’t buy it, and she could see it on his worried face.  
  
“I’ll be _fine._ I just wish I had Jane to talk to. Everything just feels off with her being out of world.” She said thoughtfully.  
  
“Two more weeks, right?” Bruce asked before tilting his head and biting into a crunchy taco. He tried his best to be polite and keep his eyes on Darcy, but he was having a difficult time not paying attention to where he put his food. She counted twice that Bruce collided his meal into the side of his face.  
  
“So close and yet, so far.” She tapped the straw against the table, breaking the paper wrapping. She pulled it up and placed the end to her lip, blowing the paper shell out at Bruce. He smiled and pawed it away with his hand, repeating the same with his straw.  “She’s probably having a blast though, save the whole meet the parents thing, Asgard style.”  
  
“Do you ever wonder what that’s like, Asgard?” Bruce asked. He leaned forward to try and take another bite of his taco, and missed. Darcy hid her smile by taking a sip of soda.  
  
“Psh, only since, like, _2009_.” She bragged. She took a small and odd pride in the fact that she knew Thor first besides Jane and Erik. She tased him after all. And hit him with a van-- sorta.  
  
“I wonder if they’ll let us visit. I bet SHIELD would be interested in getting readings and samples... _What?_ ” He smiled and looked up at Darcy laughing at him.  
  
“You mean _Bruce Banner_ would be interested in getting readings and samples.” Darcy corrected, taking a bite into her burrito. Bruce grinned as he blushed and shrugged his shoulders.  
  
“Well... yeah.” He laughed.  
  
“How’s that going? Work science-y stuff.” Darcy’s burrito fell apart and she resorted to forking it out of the paper basket.  
  
“Good. Feels good to be back in the lab. It just gives me a sense of normality.” He said, his voice drifting. “If that’s even possible.” He added quietly.  
  
“Why wouldn’t it be?”  
  
Bruce raised his brows and shook his head slightly before taking his last bite of lunch. Darcy learned to read his body language, every eyebrow waggle and lip press and fidget displayed all the things he had longed to hide.  
  
“Things have just been so hectic for so many years. After so long, that felt normal. I had lost all sense of what _right_ and _good_ could be, so I accepted a subpar life. Even life at Stark Tower is a little strange, but it feels good. There’s a sense of continuity and routine, and _stability_.” He smiled to himself as he looked up to Darcy and for a moment she had to remind herself to breathe. A warmth consumed her as she looked back at him.    
  
Darcy got up from her seat  and rotated around the table to slide in next to Bruce. She bumped her hip against his, prompting him to slide over, but instead he wrapped his arm around her. She was all smiles as she nestled up next to him against his shoulder and leaned up to kiss him on the underside of his chin. His scruff tickled her lips. Everything felt so good and so _right._  
  
“People think normality is boring or plain.” He explained and Darcy could feel the rise and fall of his chest as he spoke. She thought about how so much could come from as timid and passive a person as Bruce. So much brilliance, and so much power in one seemingly innocuous person. He could survive anything physically, but his ability to make it through the worst of his emotional turmoil never ceased to amaze her.  “But I disagree. I’m right where I want to be, and I don’t feel like I need to change that. I want to be able to create my own happiness.”  
  
Darcy flipped her hair from her face as she turned her gaze upward. “Do you think you wouldn’t be able to be happy if things were wonky? You’re not going to fly the coop if I dye my hair blue or something, are you?” Darcy reached over to grab one of his tortilla chips.  
  
“I would. But why would I want to trade that in for this? And are you going to dye your hair blue? Cute either way, but I pegged you for more of a blonde.” He pulled her close and kissed her on the forehead and Darcy giggled.  
  
“Nah, I’m staying a brunette all the way.” She smiled as she leaned against the royal purple button up. She eyed the swinging lanyard with his face on it, labeled _Bruce Banner, Research Division._ It was always a warm reminder that he was at SHIELD for being _Bruce_ , not for being there as what everyone feared him to be. “I could do this. Normal, I mean. Office romance and double dates.” Her fingers slowly tapped their way across the table to meet Bruce’s.  
  
He smiled. “You don’t think you would get bored?” He asked as her fingers met his.  
  
Darcy snorted. “ _No_. Hey, just because I work with superheroes doesn’t mean I can’t wait until something goes wrong so I can do my job. I’m down with taco tuesdays and Bruce Banner. Science is cool. And _sexy_.” She teased, turning to grab his hand and kiss at his cheek. Bruce squirmed beside her as he moved to wrap both of his arms around her waist and kissed back at her cheek, against her ear. The sensation tickled and travelled down her spine, causing her to shiver. She knew Bruce could feel it too; she felt his breath hitch against her cheek.  
  
“Get a room, lovebirds.” Came a voice beside them, and the moment was instantly terminated. Darcy turned and Bruce looked up to see Clint and Natasha standing next to their table. She wondered how the general public could think they were anything _but_ super-spies, silently sneaking up wherever they went and speaking colly,  in leather jackets and sunglasses. Natasha tapped her fingers against the plastic booth, and Clint slid in across from them with Natasha following. Clint reached across the table to take one of Bruce’s tortilla chips.  
  
“We’d love to, but all these people wanting to eat showed up, and now we have you two here. How’s it going?” Bruce greeted them while Darcy leaned back, comfortably leaning against his shoulder.  She smiled when Natasha looked over to her and gave her a small smirk.  
  
“Good. Just got back from a convention last night.” Natasha commented, _convention_ meaning a mission.  
  
“Did you kick-ass at said _convention_?” Darcy asked. Natasha and Clint exchanged smirks. Natasha clasped her hands together as she leaned forward against the table. Clint pulled the menu from the wall and peeled it open.  
  
“It went okay.” She smiled.  
  
“Look Nat, they have churros. With _caramel._ ” He murmured as he flipped the menu to the back.  
  
“We were just in Spain. Yesterday.” She told him.  
  
“And tequila.” Clint added. Natasha pursed her lips and looked over to him with a small smile. She held open her hand as the archer slid the laminated menu into her palm.  
  
“So how’s life in Stark Tower, Doctor Banner?” Natasha asked smoothly as she set down the menu, decided. Clint eyed her before sliding the menu back against the wall, slumping against the seat. He pushed his shades up against his hair, a mirror image to Natasha’s. Darcy wasn’t sure if she was awed by their synchronized movements, or creeped out. Mentally proclaiming both as the correct answer, she felt like that in itself was a fair definition of the pair. They seemed impenetrable and distant, but they wore it like a strength, and Darcy was almost envious of the two.  
  
“Never a dull moment, that’s for sure. But between lab work and uh, conventions, I haven’t seen Tony much. You’d think with his name on the building, he’d be around more often.” Bruce scratched his head. Darcy noticed how he pulled on his curls. “In fact, I’ve been spending most of my time with this one.” He relaxed as he looked to her, and she gave him a reassuring smile.  
  
“Yep. Bruce has a case of pop culture deficiency.”  
  
“This one too.” Clint pointed to Natasha, who smiled at him thinly.  
  
“Maybe with Stark out of the picture, I’d be willing to maybe watch a movie. Or two.” The spy conceded.  
  
“Really?” Darcy asked, her voice piquing with excitement.  
  
“As long as you guys aren’t sucking face. And no spy movies.” Clint’s brows pulled together.  
  
“That sounds like it could be fun. Darcy?” Bruce looked to her.  
  
“Yeah! We were going to do Men in Black next. Is that okay, or is secret government agent versus aliens too close to home? You don’t have a flashlight that erases memories, do you?” Darcy  
eyed Natasha with faux-suspicion as the woman smirked.  
  
“I’m in.” Clint declared.  
  
“Do you work nights?” Natasha asked, looking to Darcy. She shook her head.  
  
“So Friday night, eight o’clock at Stark Tower?”  
  
“How are you guys going to find us? That place is so big it should have it’s own zip code.” Darcy tried to block the memory of being lost in the tower her first time there, delivering a package. Tony had purposefully set up security parameters to have courriers, mailmen, and secretaries become detoured and distracted by robots. When Pepper found out, they hired front desk management.  
  
“We’ll find you.” Natasha reassured.  
  
“ _So_ not creepy.”  Darcy mumbled.  
  
“Darcy?” Bruce asked, looking down at his wrist. She mumbled a confused sound in response, leaning over to look at his watch. It took half a moment for her to read the hands pointing a quarter past the hour.  
  
“Is that _real_? Son of a mother, Coulson’s going to murder me.” She scrambled to pull her phone from her bag to check the time. It was nearly two-thirty, far past the two hour extended lunch hour. Already on her feet and standing at the end of the table, she gathered her sweater and her bag in one arm as she pulled Bruce out of the booth with the other.  
  
“Try not to get into too much trouble, Darce.” Clint turned around in the booth to wave at her. Natasha gave a small wiggle of her fingers. Darcy smiled dumbly back at them and waved  
before backing out the door.  
  
“Someone’s excited.” Bruce smiled as he watched the bounce in her step. Darcy cracked an enormous grin before she sauntered on ahead of Bruce to press the crosswalk button.  
  
“Well _yeah._ Were you at the same table as me or were you mentally peer-reviewing _Science Weekly_?” She raised her brows at him in playful jest. His eyes evened at her in quiet challenge and Darcy felt her heart pound against her chest.  
  
“First of all,” Bruce began, taking a casual stride to her side. He paused as she reached out to fix the collar of his beige coat, but gently took her hand in his. She could feel the heat of his breath lash on her skin as he kissed the sensitive underside of her wrist. She knew Bruce was anxious and cautious in public, but the small secret affections he gave her were enough to make her heart race and yearn for more. “Science Weekly isn’t a journal I would submit to.” He slowly let go of her hand as he eyed her with a playfulness only intended for her. “Secondly, I’m...really happy you’re making friends at work.”  
  
“They invited you too, you know. I know you have a rough background with the both of them, but they wouldn’t have asked if they didn’t want to get to know you.” Darcy turned her head slightly to catch the hesitant look on her boyfriend’s face.  
  
“Yeah.” He said at last.  
  
“ _Yeah_.” Darcy insisted. Turning, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their noses touched briefly before she kissed him softly. Tony’s voice rang in the back of her mind as she felt the kiss pull her in, reminding her that she needed to speak with Bruce.  
  
“Hey Bruce? Can we talk about something?” She asked as she pulled back and pressed her feet flat against the ground. He looked down at her with mild concern before nodding.  
  
“Of course. Can it wait until we get back into the office? If we’re any later, we could lose some privileges we’ve slid by on recently.” He explained. Darcy thought about if for a moment, realizing what he said was true.  
  
But then the crosswalk chimed once and the busy people of Manhattan moved to cross the street. Darcy found herself walking behind Bruce, telling herself she would get the chance to talk to him when they got back to her office. As they crossed the street, she stopped as she spotted Erik Selvig. Had he already been rejected so fast in the time that they were out to lunch? She watched him as he brought the papers close to his chest and began to cross the road, approaching her.  
  
She almost greeted him, then, until she saw the strange pale glow in his eyes. Her head pounded as glimpses of the dreams returned. Puente Antiguo was on a fire, just like back in New Mexico, but there was something different. She turned to see how Erik walked right past her, not saying another word. As he passed, her head pounded again. Whispers and darkness flooded her senses. She closed her eyes and grit her teeth, bringing her hands up to the sides of her head as she tried to focus.  
  
 _I’ve found you._  
  
“Darcy!” She heard Bruce yell, snapping back to reality.  
  
She looked up at him, only vaguely aware that she was standing in the midst of traffic. A cold hand wrapped around her from behind, and pulled her back to the curb just as a taxi moved past her. It blared its horn and she could see Bruce on the opposite side of the street, fists bunched at his sides as he readied himself to run across the road. The cold hand released hers just as reality snapped back into full swing.  
  
“Hey, thanks--,” Darcy said as she turned around. No one stood beside her. Not Erik Selvig or a mysterious savior or anyone. Only a few tourists wearing I  <3 NY tshirts and backpacks huddled around the crosswalk button, looking over a large paper map and arguing over directions in an asian language. As she tilted her head to check down both intersecting avenues, she heard the familiar shouts of angry cabbies. Bruce was out of breath as he moved beside her.  
  
“Are you _alright_? Christ, for a second, I thought--” He paused, pressing his lips together to form a hardened line. His eyes darted away from hers as his brows pulled together. “Something not good.” He said at last, releasing his breath.  
  
“All in one piece.” Darcy reassured. “And I don’t even think I got mugged by my secret savior.” She said as she unzipped her bag at her side, finding her cell phone and her wallet inside. She looked up to Bruce again, reaching out to slip her hand into hers. “I’m sorry.” She said in a hushed voice.  
  
“What happened? Why were you standing in the middle of the road?” He asked, trying to relax himself. She watched him as he sucked in a breath, held in, and let it go in an uneven shake. She sympathetically rubbed his forearm with her free hand.  
  
“Well Erik Selvig totally blew me off even though I was standing right in front of him.” Darcy pouted her lip, looking over her shoulder to see if he might have walked off.  
  
“Doctor Selvig? Darcy, I never saw him. Are you... sure? Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep.” Bruce looked down at her, and pressed his hand to her forehead. “No fever.”  
  
Darcy sighed with exasperation. “I wasn’t _seeing_ things, he was right there with Jane’s folder and everything! And then the dude that pulled me from traf-- you didn’t see the guy?” She felt her heart sink as Bruce looked down at her with sympathy.  
  
“I didn’t see anyone at all. You were in traffic, just spacing out. Then you walked backwards until you tripped up on the curb and grabbed ahold of the crosswalk pole.”  
  
“... _What_?” Darcy asked, frustrated. She ran her hand through her hair as she looked around again. She wished she got a better look of the person who pulled her from traffic. She didn’t remember walking back at all, and she definitely didn’t remember tripping on the curb. One second she was trying to remember something, followed by that horrible headache. Then an arm was around her with a chilly hand on hers as she was led away from the street. Now she was looked up at Bruce, who clearly was having trouble believing her.  
  
“Let’s get back to work, and maybe we can talk about getting you home early for the day.” He said.  
  
“I don’t need to be babysat, Bruce.” She sighed.  
  
“I’m sorry.” He said before taking a step back. She could see him withdrawing away from her.  
  
“... Walk me home after work?” She asked. Bruce hesitated before slipping his hand in hers and nodding. He pressed the crosswalk button again.  
  
“This time, don’t let go. I don’t know what I would do without you, Darcy.” He said. The admission was so casual, said in his anxiety, but it was the first time he had said she was so important to him. She squeezed his hand and moved closer to him.  
  
“I’ll stay by your side, big guy.” She smiled up to him in reassurance before they crossed the street.


	5. Chapter 5

**Two weeks Earlier**  
  
 **E** ven the whispers reached his cell. Whispers of matrimony, a new era, a new ruler and its queen. _A mortal woman_ , he thought, _that_ mortal woman. So he heard and bade his time. He was patient, but time was not on his side. And he was glad. He didn’t _want_ to be patient. Not with the freshly torn stitches from his lips, not while he sat in the dank and pitch black cell. Not while he sat forgotten and hated by his so-called family that cheered at the mortal becoming queen of Asgard. He was no Aesir himself, he knew, but he _was_ a rightful king. _The_ righteous king.  
  
Thor and his misguided attempts at courting his parents and bringing home a human whore brought fire to his stomach. He had been to her Earth, fought their warriors, and only lost because the useless Chitauri. Even he knew it had never been _his_ army. He would have to build his own. He would not rule them, this time. He would destroy. With destruction, an obedient race could be rebuilt. He should have seen this sooner! How foolish he was, but now, so glad. He laughed and laughed and laughed until the Asgardian cell watchers threatened him.  
  
He smiled.  
  
They could threaten them with nothing. What more did he have to lose? He had lost everything, but his own will, his own cunning. With his own cunning he would destroy and rebuild and show them how easily torn they could be. Thor and his mortal betrothed would burn in his wild fire. Revenge would be sweet and he could taste it on his tongue as they fed him scraps.  
  
He spent the weeks in his cell with patience after he heard the whispers; the spiders of the castle informing him of everything. _There are traitors in the House of Odin_ , he recalled with a smile on his lips. He sat in his darkened cellar that smelled of piss and shit and wine, no doubt from his neighbors. Curled against the corner wall, he waited as he languidly moved his tongue over his scars. He tasted the severed flesh that served as the reminder of his silence and powerlessness. But the scars only reminded him of the foolish Aesir. He could be slowed and he could be silenced but he could not be stopped.  
  
He heard the news far before they arrived, but when they did, he could feel it. He could feel it in his bones, the feel of betrayal that was so familiar that it called to him in his head to fill the silence of the day.  He could hear the repetitive small footsteps of the woman, besides the obstinate and unyielding steps of plated boots.  
  
“A visit from the regent King Thor and his betrothed, Lady Jane.” He heard the guard call and a wicked grin moved across Loki’s features.  
  
 **J** ane straightened her shoulders as she approached the cell. She felt Thor’s strong hand against her shoulder, and that reminder brought a sense of safety to her. She found Asgard and all of its people more than amazing on her first day, but she had not been looking forward to meeting her fiance’s younger brother. He tried to kill Thor and herself once, and even came back to terrorize Earth a second time around. Jane was not as enthusiastic as Thor was to see Loki. She tried to mask her face in a veil of calm, as Queen Frigga had told her to. She was grateful to the Aesir Queen on both Asgardian and royal etiquette, but she found it hard to employ when half the local realm wanted to come up and examine -- or in Fandral’s case -- touch. She stood by Thor’s side as they stood at the end of the cell.  
  
The steel door itself shifted as the metal door became metal bars, revealing a small cell. Loki stood opposite of her. He was lean, no doubt far more lean than she remembered from the news feeds, due to his starvation. But he did not appear weak. In fact, he stood taller than both her and Thor, and looked down at her like she was nothing. His boots paced squarely apart matched his stance to his shoulders. He only smiled as his gaze met Jane’s.  
  
“Lady Jane. And _my dearest brother._ Greetings. I would welcome you in, but I’m afraid they’ve sealed these gates with quite the magic spell. That, and it reeks of death in here. I hope you have not left me to die yet again, hm?” He mused. His voice gave Jane the creeps but she held in the shiver. She knew she was being watched from all sides. She forced a smile and was thankful that Thor spoke instead.  
  
“Brother.” His voice, though hard, was empathetic. Jane kept her eyes ahead of her. “I know you have knowledge of my betrothed, Lady Jane Foster, of Midgard. I know you may not wish to hear everything I have to say, but know that in my heart, I wait for your rehabilitation and your release. In fact, I would be none happier if you could attend my wedding.”  
  
Loki turned his gaze to Jane, and she could feel her blood turn to ice. She knew he had no power out of the cell, but his look was near enough to undo her. She knew what a threat he was, but at the same time, she knew how much Thor loved him. Jane knew that made Loki even more dangerous. He stepped off and away from the wall and smoothly glided to meet her on the other side of the bars.  
  
“Are you enjoying your stay? I do hope they’ve kept you in a better room than the one I’ve been hosted in.”  
  
“Thank you, Loki. But they aren’t keeping me. I’m a guest, and we’re going back to meet my parents as soon as our visit it over. As lovely as Asgard is, and it is very beautiful, my home is on Earth.”  
  
“Oh? So soon? But you’ll miss all the dear All Father has to offer in terms of hospitality and arrogance.” He purred.  
  
“Loki.” Thor warned.  
  
“I’m on sabbatical for a month. Even ... if The All Father accepts Thor’s proposal sooner, we have all intents on staying. This realm is...incredible.” Jane’s breath left her in astonishment. “But the All Father has been hospitable and respectful.” At least she hoped so.  
  
“Oh yes. I know all about your sciences on Midgard. No doubt that is how the Bifrost was repaired so quickly. Did the Doctor Erik Selvig assist you on your project?” Loki asked casually, taking a few steps from the cell bars. Jane released a breath she was unaware of holding on to as he created distance.  
  
“You’re not obligated to tell him anything, Jane.” Thor whispered to her. But Jane could see the mocking way Loki looked at her, and she foresaw being Thor’s Midgardian arm-accessory for the remainder of her trip.  
  
“No. I don’t mind.” She said. “Erik’s a brilliant man, but I did most of the work myself. He only oversaw the logistics.”  
  
“Then I must give you credit, _Lady Jane_ _of Midgard_. Someone as foolhardy as my brother needs a woman of intellectual strength beside him.” Loki teased and both Jane and Thor smiled.  
  
“You sound almost like yourself, brother.” Thor said with a tinge of sadness in his voice.  
  
“Let us hope that your Midgardian employers do not seize the Chitauri weaponry that was used to amend the Bifrost.” Loki added.  
  
“Jane does not work for SHIELD, nor does Selvig, but it is in no danger of being repossessed.” Thor assured him.  
  
“Ah, the man in the metal armor.” Loki hummed as he rolled his eyes, no doubt remembering his time spent with Stark.    
  
“No.” Jane said. “A friend.” She technically hadn’t asked Darcy, _yet_ , but her name was under authorship on the Jane Foster Theory paper for her help in Puente Antiguo, next to Erik’s. If the intellectual property belonged to Darcy, even a fraction of it, she could defend it from SHIELD. As long as it wasn’t misused, it would remain the three’s property. It may have slipped Jane’s mind to tell Darcy that the burden went to her if SHIELD refused to listen to Erik. Between her own engagement plans and her best friend being so busy with recovery and work from the HYDRA attack, she neglected to mention it.  
  
“And are you sure you can trust your... friend?” Loki smiled.  
  
“Yes.” Jane said with absolution. She could feel his eyes bearing down on her, but he smiled and turned his gaze to Thor. The elder brother sighed with exasperation.  
  
“We have no time for your games, Loki. We only decided to have a visit. You are family, and I owed Jane to meet you, at least that much.” Thor said.  
  
“And it was truly a pleasure.” Loki smiled to them before stepping back into the shadows. Jane only peeled her eyes away as Thor led her from the dungeon.  
  
“I hope he did not frighten you.” Thor said, his voice echoing down the hall.  
  
Jane said she was fine, but in truth, Loki terrified her.  
  
 **A** nd he knew.  
  
 _How long will it take the Aesir to find me missing?,_ Loki thought with a smirk as he stepped before the Bifrost and let it consume him. The stars shone and sucked him in as he left his captors and his former home behind him.  Though it took only seconds to be thrown through space and time, the tugging feeling at the pit of his stomach reminded him of his disgust to have spoken to Jane Foster. The rage coiled inside him and pulsed through his blood, curled in his chest and threatened to explode. But then he stood in a small laboratory on the realm called Earth.  
  
He lingered around the laboratory for a few moments, examining computers and consoles. His hand brushed against the mouse, and the computer whirred to life. His eyes narrowed in curiosity as he bent down to examine the screen flickering in the darkness. Behind the small box asking for a password was Foster, the Doctor Selvig, Thor, and the girl. Loki knew this girl. He recognized her not only through the Destroyer’s eyes, but also through the Doctor’s when he occupied his mind before given the tesseract. Doctor Foster’s best friend and co-author on her invention also worked for the organization that had impeded his previous plans.  
  
Loki grinned wickedly as he looked to the smiling girl in glasses on the screen. The trusted friend of Jane Foster, Thor, and Erik Selvig; the connection.  
  
“ _Darcy Lewis._ ” He said her name on his lips for the first time. While she was there with Thor in the first battle on Midgard, he only gave her a cursory amount of regard. When he occupied Selvig’s minds and dreams, he became more aware of the people in his life. Selvig, a single man who dedicated himself to science, lead a mostly solitary lifestyle. It was only when he took on Foster as a student, and incidentally this girl, was when he found a sense of, dare Loki shudder to think it, family. Looking over the trio’s smiling faces, he wondered if the humans ever regarded their closeness and affection as a weakness and a downfall. Loki knew better.  
  
It would be four weeks until Thor’s beloved returned, he thought, or sooner when they realized himself missing. He knew he had to make use of his time and the connections he had quickly. And he would start with an old friend.  
  
Loki found his dreams dull and his lifestyle far more bleak. The trickster found himself growing restless as he flipped through the man’s mind like a book. He found Selvig’s particularly weak and pliable, just as it was as he first fell to Midgard. Of course, it was easier with the tesseract, and the Chitauri’s scepter, but neither were in Loki’s possession. Instead, he made due with a lifetime’s knowledge of magic and manipulation. He could not linger in Erik’s mind in his waking state, but he could shadow him as he worked and even produce and shift illusions to test and gauge him.  
  
In his time with Selvig, he learned how Foster had built up the Bifrost Modification on Earth, and how she had honed it’s ability to receive and deploy. Not only had Foster fixed the Bifrost, but enhanced it. He also learned that Darcy Lewis had since been employed by SHIELD as an assistant to Phil Coulson, who narrowly survived his injuries. He found it strange that there was nothing out of the ordinary about her. Jane Foster and Erik Selvig were both esteemed in their fields. Darcy Lewis was noteworthy for nothing in particular. Was he missing something? What was so special about her? Loki delved into Selvig’s dreams to find out.  
  
As suspected, the man’s dreams were filled of longing. Memories of his family, former prestige, and work with Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis were grasped onto dearly. With a will of Loki’s magic, his presence became more pronounced in his dreams. He tossed and turned and gasped as images of the trickster dug deeper into his psyche, uprooting memories of Puente Antiguo, The Destroyer, the tesseract, and the Chitauri. Selvig’s dreams shifted and mutated as Loki watched, causing new outcomes again and again. He found nothing noteworthy in his dreams. It was all fear, longing, chaos. He saw how Selvig struggled and fought with his own cowardice as he failed to save his friends again and again. Boring, Loki thought, and removed himself from the dreams.  
  
A week had gone by since his time on Midgard when Selvig received a message on his phone. This happened often and were usually updates on various projects, but this one was different. As Loki’s finger pressed down on the message labeled Darcy Lewis, he stilled.  
  
 _Happy to let you know I’m doing my scientific duty by dating Bruce Banner!_  
 _xo,_  
 _Darcy_  
  
Ignoring the memory of crushing pain and defeat at the hand of the monstered man, he reveled in his victorious discovery. It seemed as if she were the connection after all. A connection, Loki thought, that could easily be severed. Everything would come crashing down.  
  
And so he visited her.  
  
Darcy Lewis’s home was a small apartment among hundreds in a towering building in lower Manhattan. It was a small one bedroom, one bath. The kitchen was small, but opened up to the living room. The walls were a deep purple, with furniture in the browns, greys, violets, and white. Her belongings were stacked, organized, but overflowing on shelves and in the stackable containers. She wasn’t home the first time he surveyed her home. To Loki, it was a non-issue. He could effortlessly keep himself from the mortal eye.  
  
Loki curiously roamed in her apartment. Aesthetically, it was completely the opposite of Selvig’s dwelling. More feminine, he observed, but also more lively. Superfluous trinkets lined the tops of cabinets and drawers. She had dozens of photos lining her walls, including her family, Jane Foster, Selvig, The Avengers, including his brother. Tapping his finger against Thor’s portrait, the glass cracked, and Loki moved on. In her bedroom, he sat on her bed, his hand moving across the soft quilt.  All the trinkets, toys, and childish homely things belonged to this girl. This girl had incapacitated a god, seduced a monster, and befriended the greatest intellectuals of her realm, all the while working as one of the top informants in a spy agency. _Strange_ , he thought, that someone so small and so ordinary and so inconsequential could be anything but.  
  
 **Asgard**  
  
“The queen is so fond of you. I know you’ll make a wonderful queen, my Jane.” Thor said as servants offered to refill her wine glass. She shook her head; Asgardian liquor was far stronger than Midgard’s. It was strange, Jane thought, to be sitting in a castle being waited on by servants and meeting the queen and king _gods_ who had heralded the birth of religion when humanity was in an infant stage. Humanity was still so young compared to the lengthy lore of Asgard. And yet with all the amazing history, royal gestures and beautiful alien scenery, she missed home. She couldn’t imagine inheriting the realm as Thor’s bride. She was sure the realm wouldn’t allow it, but Thor was incredibly optimistic. Jane didn’t personally care about becoming a queen. She just genuinely loved Thor.  
  
“Queen Frigga is incredibly wonderful. Your mother is just, really sweet.” She agreed. Thor’s blonde brows pulled together.  
  
“You are unhappy. Why?”  
  
“I’m not unhappy.” She corrected. She set took the last sip of wine in her chalice before setting it down and moving around the small table that sat between them. She sat next to Thor on the plush, velvet couch. Her fingers idly picked at the golden spun threads at its arm, before dropping her hand and leaning against him. She knew that public affection was frowned upon, though technically Thor could do near whatever he wished. Jane wanted to be on her best behavior, though. In truth, it exhausted her. She was so used to stubbornly pulling to get her own way, that being quiet and appealing was a difficult task.  
  
“What is it? Is it father? He can be... aloof.”  
  
“No, the King is fine. I mean, _my_ parents have more drama, and they didn’t cast their son to another planet. So really, that’s not it. I’m just overwhelmed. It’s... so not like home. I just keep imagining Darcy _touching_ everything and it makes me miss Earth.”  
  
“You feel like an alien.” Thor chuckled. Jane let out a breathy laugh as he wrapped his arm around her. “And Darcy would be capturing images on her phone at every hall and every room.”  
  
“Oh god, she really would. But I guess things have changed, haven’t they, me being the awkward alien?” Shemused.

“Not everything has changed, Jane Foster.” He said and she shivered, casting a shy glance to him. 

“No.” She smiled as he leaned in to kiss her. A knock came at the grand, tall doors that echoed through the chamber. She felt safe around Thor, but the echo seemed haunting.  Thor turned his head, calling out for them to enter. 

It was Sif who entered. Thor immediately stood, pulling Jane to her feet. Sif moved and kneeled before him.

“My Prince. Lady Jane.”  
  
“Sif.” Thor said warmly, and she looked up before standing. Sif had no warmth to her, Jane noticed, only concern.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Jane asked.

“It’s Loki.”

"Is he well?” Thor asked.  
  
“He’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. Holidays were a little busy. Don't worry, the story has not been abandoned (in fact theres about 60 pages of material beyond this that I've written)! I'll try to release the next chapter soon.


	6. Chapter 6

**One Week Ago**  
  
 **H** e watched her as she returned from work, every day. She kicked her shoes off, retrieved them, and placed them behind the front door. She prepared her meals alone, but danced as music flowed through the kitchen. At the end of the day, she unwound on the couch watching films with a small slim compact computer on her stomach, with her phone in her hand. She contacted Bruce Banner on occasion and once left to meet him, but contacted no others. At night, she curled in her bed and read literature on a small flat book with a screen. He noticed she was not particularly graceful nor articulate. She seemed absolutely average.  
  
Her dreams, however, were not. In her dreams, she triumphed. Unlike Selvig’s dreams that longed for happiness in the past, that demanded recognition, hers were wild and fantastical. They were warm and passionate. Her mind was more difficult to delve into and understand. It was resilient, stubborn, and defensive, but also colorful, and grand, and eccentric. Loki found it unconventional, chaotic and near impossible to navigate.  Thoughts moved around her head with no apparent connection or logical conclusion. In fact, he was not entirely ruling off the possibility that Darcy Lewis was simply _mad._  
  
It frustrated him to understand so little in her introspection. He would not be able to gather enough information from just watching her dreams or mind alone. Curious now, he would have to act.  
  
Darcy stood in front of the mirror, checking her appearance again; Loki had lost count. Well-dressed and freshly pampered, meticulous with her appearance and repeatedly checking her phone, it wasn’t hard to guess what she had planned for the night. Loki decided to follow, creeping behind her, unnoticed.  
  
“You brought a backpack. With clothes.” Bruce Banner said when he looked down at the girl’s hip. His eyes lingered as he stood in his doorway.  
  
“Yep. Sleepover.” Darcy declared as she rocked on her heels. “May I come in, or does Stark require a secret password?” She asked, looking up at the ceiling. “Hulk Smash! Enter!” She raised her voice. Nothing happened, but Banner stepped aside with a smile, watching her go in. Loki slipped in behind her as the scientist closed the door.  
  
“What?” Darcy asked. Loki watched as she stared at Banner, whose eyes searched the room. Loki paused, his brows pulling together. Anger rose inside him as he was forced to admit the thin nervous veil that encompassed him when the scientists eyes briefly moved past where he stood. The pain of the monster was all too easy to remember. But as Banner gave a defeated shrug, Loki smirked to himself. The monster was strong, but the man was weak.   
  
“Can I get you a glass of water? Tea?” Banner asked as he took Darcy’s coat and bag from her arms and set them up on a hanger.   
  
“It’s not like forty dollar water that Stark imported, is it?” She asked.  
  
“I built a water filtration device for the tap. Is that okay?” Banned reached for a glass. As Darcy flirted in awe over Banner’s ability to build household items, Loki moved from room to room. This floor of Stark Tower was completely dedicated to the scientist, though his belongings were so sparsely decorated that it looked uninhabited. He was tempted to move about the halls, but even he was cautious under the eye of Stark’s technology. He did gain a considerable amount of knowledge purely based on the structure of the building, however. It had been remodeled since his last visit to Midgard, and he guessed for practical purpose. Loki smiled to himself as he saw the repercussions of his waged war, pleased.  
  
Instead he silently watched the two for the evening. They both cooked together in the kitchen, ate at the table, and then moved to watch entertainment on the television. The evening drew to a close and so did their bodies. As he watched Banner slowly place his hand on the girl’s thigh, he recognized that the man had hardly changed a bit. Every move, every word, every pause did not escape Loki. He tried again to invade Darcy’s mind. It was still annoyingly complicated, and he wondered if he should dare try to read the monster’s. He first guessed the monster to have a reaction if Loki tested it, but in the company of the girl, would the monster risk it? He felt surprised enough as it was, that the monster had barely sensed anything wrong. Had he been cured of it?   
  
Looking into his mind, he was met with a swirling and chaotic thrust of anger and confusion. It tangled around Loki’s mind, threatening to constrict him and suffocate him. Banner’s mind screamed as flashes of rage and frustration and loss. Even for Loki, it was unbearable. Loki breathed in deeply and forced himself out of his mind before it threatened to suck him in. The last fleeting mental glimpse he got was of the girl, Darcy Lewis.   
  
“What is it?” The girl asked softly as she hovered her lips against Banner’s. Banner’s eyes once more flickered to where Loki stood. Loki returned the look with a cautious stare. The clueless glance Banner gave was almost infuriating to him. He was so dangerous and yet he suppressed so much _power._  
  
“What is it, Banner?” Loki hissed as he stepped forward. “Or are you too weak, too cautious, too afraid to see what’s going on?” He paused as he stood over the two on the couch.  
  
“Bruce?” Darcy whispered, her hand cupping his cheek. “Earth to space cadet.”   
  
“Or is it _her_?”  
  
“Sorry.” Banner closed his eyes. He quickly kissed Darcy on the lips before pulling away. He got up from the couch and moved to the kitchen, flipping on the faucet and filling his glass.  
  
“What’s up?” Darcy asked, spinning to sit up on the couch.  
  
“Headache. Surprisingly you have adverse health effects when your body is pumped full of gamma radiation.” He explained.  
  
“Ooh, is that like a pill to reduce radiation or combat radiation sickness? Does it keep you from hulking out? You weren’t going to go green from making out, were you?” Darcy asked and Loki rolled his eyes at her inquiries. He became grateful, however, when Banner replied.  
  
“Advil, actually.” He explained as he downed the small brown pills and swallowed them with water. “Unfortunately, there’s nothing that can keep me from... _hulking out_.” He set down the cup and moved back to the couch. He slid down to nestle himself against Darcy and wrapped his arms around her. “But if there was anything, it would be you.”  
  
“Me?” She smiled.  
  
“You just... center me. I’m more focused, more empowered, and I feel more _human_ when I’m with you. Like I’m not a monster.”   
  
“You’re not a monster.” She whispered, fingers running through his hair as he rest his head against her breast.  
  
“Besides, I think the other guy doesn’t want to see you hurt.”  
  
“Me and the other guy are bros, that’s why.” She laughed.  
  
The rest of the night Loki watched, observed, and calculated his plan.  And when Darcy rest her head against Banner’s chest and closed her eyes, he was able to watch her dreams once more. Only this time, he would not allow them to be so kind. The plan was in motion now, and this was it’s starting point. He watched in her dream as the Destroyer set the town of Puente Antiguo aflame, as he manipulated her mind to see the failure of their victory, the death of her friends, and the inability to escape. All of it came crashing down on her until she woke in the middle of the night, gasping.  
  
She left Stark Tower the morning of the nightmare, cautious. When she looked out into the night, looking right at him, he thought for a moment she could see him. Instead, she shook her head in worry of paranoia, and continued on. Loki tested her, again and again throughout the day. Illusions, voices, visions. He projected them all, and she fell for them, again and again and again. He reached out and touched her and she could _feel_  it. She became more restless, more paranoid, and all the while, more vulnerable.  
  
And although all was going according to plan, Loki was having fun.   
  
**Friday**  
  
 **D** arcy yawned as she struggled to make it through her meeting. Coulson shot her a look. She knew that underneath that look was worry, maybe even a little compassion. But from a compulsory glance back, the look screamed _Now is not the time to sleep._ Darcy bit her lip, and hard, as she struggled to keep herself awake during the meeting where Fury was speaking with international leaders in Asia.   
  
All week long she had been sorely sleep deprived. She was pretty sure that if she consumed any more red bull and triple shot espressos that she was either going to die, or suffer some sort of caffeine induced freak accident where she would conveniently transform herself into a superhero. Not even finals or research time with Jane had left her this exhausted. It had been five days, and each night she had gotten maybe two hours of sleep, but it hardly felt restful. She would wake up gasping, or once when she slept over at Bruce’s as she had yesterday morning, screaming. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see horrific images of her friends being hurt. This morning she had fallen asleep on the subway, and not only subsequently missed her stop, but dreamt that Bruce had hulked out.   
  
Reluctantly, Darcy had returned to SHIELD’s therapist. She tried not to doze off as the woman told her she had post traumatic stress disorder. Darcy argued that she did not, that her dreams had nothing to do with HYDRA. The therapist told her that the disorder worked in strange ways, and it with therapy, they could explore the links between the HYDRA attack, and Darcy’s dreams. Darcy didn’t buy it, but Bruce encouraged her to return next week. She accepted the appointment card with a heavy sigh.  
  
Bruce asked her if she thought it was his fault. “Why would this be your fault?” She had asked him back. He simply avoided her gaze with a shrug of his shoulders. She reassured him that the nightmares had nothing to do with him. It was stress, she told herself, stress. The last thing she wanted was to catch Bruce up in her problems. She knew he had enough of his own. And while she wanted to keep having that talk with him about sex, it became delayed more and more because of circumstances.  
  
A pinch to her thigh made her jump and sit straight in her seat. She could see the table of SHIELD agents and officers look at her expectantly. Darcy compiled the papers in front of her quickly as she stood up and pushed up her glasses. She regarded the giant monitor in front of her as she read from the paper on reports of international conflict and time of response from agents. As she sat back down, she looked to her left. Natasha lowered her head and pushed a small note to Darcy. _Good job_ , it read.   
  
“Thanks for the...” Darcy mouthed and held up her hands, squeezing her forefinger and thumb together in a pinch. Natasha smiled and shrugged.   
  
When the meeting adjourned, Darcy found herself dozing off again. Everything felt dimmed down and far away and it painfully contrasted with the moments where she was filled with anxiety and apprehension. She had no other explanation besides the caffeine overdoses. Natasha moved by her.  
  
“Look alive, Darcy. We still on for tonight?” She asked.  
  
Darcy was almost surprised that Natasha was speaking to her so casually. “Oh yeah. Definitely.”  
  
“Okay. Don’t mind Clint when he riffs movies. He thinks he’s hilarious.” Natasha crossed her arms but smiled.   
  
“Oh. It’s cool.” Darcy said. The thought of watching movies with the both of them made her heart race. _Should I be fangirling over my coworkers?_ She wondered. “So you’re down for a regular movie night, maybe? Or will you be busy cracking skulls? Literally.”  
  
“Both. But we’ll find time. It’ll be nice to spend time with friends. We’ll see you at Doctor Banner’s.” Natasha turned to go, but Darcy called out.  
  
“You can call him Bruce, you know.” She said. Natasha looked at her, and Darcy could see the faintest hint of surprise on the spy’s face. “He wouldn’t mind.” Darcy added. Natasha slowly smiled and nodded.  
  
“See you and Bruce tonight, Darcy.” The spy said and continued down the hall. As tired as Darcy felt, she felt really good.  
  
That night, Bruce sent for one of Stark Industries drivers to pick Darcy up. To her surprise, Bruce was waiting in the backseat.  
  
“ _My hero_.” Darcy smiled with relief as she moved into the back seat and closed the door behind her.   
  
“How are you feeling?” He asked as she leaned against his shoulder. He gently brushed her hair over her shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her. With her eyes closed, she held up a thumbs up. “How are you _really_ feeling?” He asked again, softly. She turned her thumb upside down with a pouting frown.  
  
“We can reschedule the movie night.” He assured her.   
  
“No.” Darcy said, stubbornly. “I want them to be friends with us.” She could feel Bruce’s snort ruffle her hair. He slowly rubbed her arm as she rest against him. It was the most lulling, comfortable thing had felt all day. Suddenly the nightmares were distant and far, and she was wrapped up in Bruce’s safe affection. She knew she did wonders for Bruce’s sense of calm, but Bruce did the same for her. She felt at ease around him. She didn’t feel so clumsy, crazy, or stupid around him. She felt empowered by his affection. “You’re so comfortable, Bruce.” She mumbled. “Can I stay like this for a decade or two?” Before drifting off to sleep she heard him suck in a breath before saying, “You can stay for as long as you like.”  
  
“How’s it going, Sleeping Beauty?” Clint smirked as he jumped over the couch and landed beside her. “Nat told me you dozed off during a meeting in front of the new president of China. Classic.” He reached across her to pluck a giant bowl of popcorn from the side table. Darcy intercepted and stole a handful.  
  
“Don’t let him give you a hard time, Darcy. Clint has embarrassed himself in front of too many ambassadors to count.” Natasha smiled and sat next to Clint at the further end of the count. She held out her hand as Clint held out the bowl for her. “Where’s Do-...Bruce?” She asked.  
  
“He’s picking up the pizza from the lobby. Didn’t want the delivery guy to get lost.” Darcy replied.  
  
“Oh yeah, I heard about that story too.” Clint grinned, referencing the time when Darcy spent hours trying to find Stark’s office.  
  
“I have enough access codes to find out if you wet the bed as an eight year old.” Darcy retorted, taking another bit of popcorn.  
  
“He did.” Natasha said, reaching into the bowl.  
  
“ _Liars and thieves_.” Clint protested, holding up the bowl of popcorn above his head. “ _Women._ Banner needs to get up here before you guys ruin my reputation.”  
  
“As a casual sexist?” Darcy remarked, climbing up on the couch to grab the bowl back. She stood up on the couch as she held it above her head. Clint climbed up beside her, attempting to snatch it back.   
  
“You mean feminist isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you see me?” He swiped at the bowl, but he missed as Darcy wobbled to the side.   
  
“Nice try, big bird!”   
  
“You did not just call me a bird.”  
  
“Caw.”  
  
“Nat, warn her. Warn her no bird jokes.”  
  
“Caw caw, motherf--” Darcy squealed as Clint nearly tackled her backwards off the couch. The popcorn bowl went flying through the air and bounced off the floor, its contents spilling everywhere. That was when Bruce walked back into the room with two boxes of pizza, finding Darcy hanging upside down off the back of the couch, Clint’s arms around her waist, and Natasha casually staring forward at the DVD title screen.   
  
“Saved you a seat, Bruce.” Natasha waved him over.  
  
“Caw.” Darcy added and Clint dropped her. She landed with a ‘thud’. She looked up to see Bruce looking down at her and smiling. “Hey tall, green, and handsome.” He laughed.  
  
The movie went on surprisingly well without a hitch. Although tired and woozy, Darcy was really enjoying the night. What was better, she knew Bruce was too. Clint and Darcy bantered and joked throughout the film and Natasha cleverly pointed out “I’ve used one of those before” when laser shooting guns were featured. Bruce began to explain how using so much technology would induce radiation, but Clint called him a nerd. Natasha, Bruce, and Darcy all muttered _caw_ , and the movie ended without any pizza being thrown.   
  
“I liked it.” Natasha said at the end.  
  
“Me too. Good choice, Darcy.” Bruce said.  
  
“Well, while you chumps are off saving the world with super abilities, _I am_ the heralded queen of media and tasers.”  
  
“Did you really almost tase Stark this morning?” Clint asked.  
  
“Yep.”  
  
“ _Sweet._ ”  
  
“Right?”  
  
“Hey, give me your phone.” Clint said.  
  
“My shiny objects are not to be collected for your nest.”  
  
“Har har, we’re going to give you our phone numbers. Weirdo.” He picked up her phone from her hand and opened up her contacts. Darcy looked over to Bruce with the most excited smile. He was smiling too.  
  
“Your phone is ringing.” Natasha said as she held it out towards Darcy, as it rang with _She Blinded Me With Science_.  Darcy automatically recognized it as Jane’s ringtone. Cautiously, she took it in her hand.   
  
“Jane’s still in Asgard.” She mumbled before answering the call and holding the phone up to her ear.  
  
“Darcy?” She heard Jane’s concerned voice.  
  
“ _Jane_? I thought you were in the castle in the sky, what’s going on?”  
  
“Are you okay?” Her friend repeated, near out of breath.    
  
“Is he there?” Thor asked in the background.  
  
“I’m fine. I’m with Bruce and Natasha and Clint at Stark Tower. Is _who_ here?” Darcy asked, fear creeping over her.   
  
“Loki.”


	7. Chapter 7

“You should sleep.” Bruce ran his fingers through her hair as she lay in his lap.  
  
“Can’t.” She mumbled miserably. Every time she would drift to sleep, she would jerk awake in a gasp. Clint and Natasha had left hours ago, but they were still in the building. _I should feel safe_ , she thought, _especially here_. She was in one of the most secure buildings in the world, surrounding by people who saved the world. But she didn’t even feel safe in her own skin. Every time she closed her eyes, she would see visions of the world burning, of people she loved in pain, and a binding fear that threatened to crush her. She could barely recall any of her dreams in detail, but she knew they were bad. Really bad.  
  
“I feel like I’m going crazy, Bruce.” She said, trying to keep herself from falling back to sleep. “I’m just at the mercy of my body and my stupid brain.” She felt disgusted with herself at this point. She felt weak and whiny, and the acknowledgment of that made her feel even worse.  
  
“I know that feeling.” Bruce said and Darcy winced.  She turned over onto her back to look up at him. They lay on the couch. The room still smelled like pizza and popcorn and the memories of the good night.  
  
“I’m sorry.” She said.  
  
“For what?” He didn’t look upset or wronged. Maybe she was just exaggerating her emotions at this point. She didn’t know. She didn’t trust herself.  
  
“Making my problems such a big deal.” She frowned, and was confused to see Bruce smile down at her. It sent shivers down her spine to look up at him, to be so wrapped up in his safety, that she wanted to depend on it so badly.  
  
“You’re allowed to have problems, and they’re allowed to be bad. Sleep deprivation and anxiety can do awful things to a person. Is there anything I can do to help?”  
  
“Who made you so sweet?” Darcy cracked a sad smile.  
  
“Gamma radiation.” He teased. Darcy laughed and he smiled.  
  
“Don’t leave me, Bruce.”  
  
“I’m here.” He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. It was a small, chaste kiss, meant for comfort, but as Darcy reciprocated it grew into something more. As his lips moved against hers, she knew how good it felt and how much she wanted it. The kiss paused only for a moment as Darcy sat up beside him on the couch. He looked at her in confusion for only a moment before he could read the look in her eyes. She leaned in to kiss him again, and it was anything but chaste and comforting. It was needy, desperate, passionate. It wasn’t just her, but Bruce too. He kissed back, his tongue moved against hers as the kiss deepened. Her eyes were closed but she could feel the stubble of his chin brush against her skin. It stung, but she didn’t care.  
  
Darcy wrapped her arms around him as his hands moved up her back, fingers pressing against her. She gasped against his lips as he uttered a moan, pausing only in her surprise before kissing him again. She pulled at the short curls on the nape of his neck as he slowly sucked on her bottom lip, teeth gently nipping. She whimpered as he nipped harder, relinquishing her lip for only a moment before crashing his back against hers. She let out a shaky breath as she leaned against him, the two falling back against the couch. Not breaking the kiss, she crawled over him. Bruce’s hands moved to her hips as he pulled her forward against his own. She let out a small cry against him before getting lost in his kiss once more. Her hips rocked against his and he moaned again as he guided her against him. Without warning, he pushed her back.  
  
“Wait!” He yelled. Darcy fell back opposite of him, and looked to him with wide-eyes. The room spun around them as she tried to find her breath. Bruce looked completely shocked, almost angry.  
  
“Wh--what?” She asked, her voice shaking. Why was she afraid?  
  
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Bruce stuttered. He looked around the room in confusion before looking back to her, bewildered. Darcy didn’t know what to say or do.  
  
“Did I do something wrong?” Her voice shook as her lip quivered. Then she realized she was crying. Bruce’s arms moved around her quickly, rocking her back and forth.  
  
“No, no, you didn’t. You didn’t. I just... I can’t, Darcy. I can’t. I’m so sorry.” He repeated, rocking her. She shook as she wrapped her arms around him and gripped his shirt. She clenched her teeth together, trying not to cry. She didn’t even know why she was crying.  
  
It took several minutes for Darcy to calm down. Time was a help, but Bruce was too. He kept apologizing and whispering in her ear that it was okay, until it became a mantra. She pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes. She tried to blame it on being a nervous wreck from not sleeping, but honestly, she didn’t know. She should be the one apologizing, but Bruce   
wouldn’t have it. He got up to get her water while she sat and breathed in to collect herself.  
  
“I’ve been meaning to tell you. And... I figured that was what you wanted to talk about. I shouldn’t have avoided it.” He said as he handed her the glass. She took several gulps before responding slowly, quietly.  
  
“You... can’t have sex?”  
  
“I don’t know.” He admitted quietly as he slumped down on the couch.  
  
“How do you know?” She looked up at him.  
  
“I don’t.”  
  
“Are you going to like, lose control or something? I thought you said I grounded you.” Every word tumbled out like an accusation. She wanted to be understanding. She needed to be understanding.  
  
“You do, you do. It’s just hard not to... get lost in you. I don’t know if I’ll lose my concentration or how the radiation will react to the adrenaline.” He looked back to her, to see confusion on her face. “After the incident, every day felt like this. I didn’t trust myself. I hated myself. Anything could set me off, and the other guy could come out. And then I learned to control it, but some things...” He pressed his lips together in a thin line. Darcy could see his jaw clench.  
  
“I understand if... if you don’t want to be with me.” He covered his face in shame.  
  
“No.” Darcy frowned. “You are not turning this into a twilight fanfiction melodrama.” She leaned forward and pulled his hand from his face. She squeezed his hand as she looked into his eyes. “I am not leaving you.” She said firmly. “But.”  
  
“ _But_.” He repeated in an unsure tone.  
  
“Do you not... want me?” She asked slowly. Bruce let out an incredulous laugh. Darcy blinked at him in confusion.  
  
“Oh, I want you.” He said, pulling up her hand in his to kiss it. He nuzzled her hand against his cheek and she felt a warmth spread across her body. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” His whispered and looked up at her, giving her a small smile.  
  
“Yeah.” She said bluntly, causing them both to laugh. She set down her water on the table and moved into his arms. She felt so safe in them, other guy and self-control or not.  
  
“Do you think we could try?” Darcy asked. Bruce was quiet, letting out a burdened sigh.  
“It’s dangerous.”  
  
“You _said_ the other guy doesn’t want to hurt me.”  
  
“That’s not how it works, Darcy.”  
  
“What if we took it slow? Or what if you just stayed angry the whole time and we did it when you were really, really, frustrated? I could do angry sex. Just saying.” She added as she curled up against his chest.  
  
“I don’t know.” He said again. “I’m sorry.”  
  
“Well... there are other things that feel good that don’t necessarily get your heart racing.” She looked up at him in time to see him blush and suppress a smile.  
  
“That’s how you and Betty Spaghetti got by, wasn’t it!” She teased, watching Bruce flush a deeper shade of red. She grinned. “So she wasn’t an unlucky lady after all. And you of all people should know you don’t define sex by a dude’s magical dick.”  
  
“I wouldn’t mind, if it’s about your pleasure.” He admitted.  
  
“I want you to feel good too, Bruce. I don’t want it to be just about me.”  
  
“Maybe... if we take it slow, I could focus. _Oh_.”  
  
“... Oh?” Darcy asked.  
  
“And... I can’t, uh... let my emissions anywhere.”  
  
“... Bruce Banner, is your special sauce radioactive?”  
  
Bruce sunk in against the couch further, covering his face. “Special sauce. Lord.” He mumbled. “Yes, yes it is.”  
  
Darcy clutched her arms around him and hugged him. “I really hope you didn’t wank and shot it clear across the room to have it melt a wall.”  
  
“Well it wouldn’t melt a wall. It would decay and cancer at a rate so fast--”  
  
“And that is where this conversation ends.” Darcy interjected. Bruce laughed, saying he didn’t   
mind. He rubbed her back as they cuddled in silence.  
  
“I think...we could work.” She said in the quiet as she fell asleep in his arms, hoping Bruce could protect her from her dreams.  
  
 **I** t was five in the morning when Jane Foster appeared at his door. He hadn’t been able to sleep, not between Darcy’s thrashing in her sleep and the talk of the night. First Loki escaping, and then the heartbreak that nearly came to fruition. He tried to slip off the couch as quietly as possible when he heard the knock.  
  
“Jane.” He said, trying to mask his confusion. She looked up at him and forced a smile. She looked as exhausted as Darcy had been. He looked behind him towards the living room, reluctant to leave Darcy, but he didn’t want to wake her. He stepped out into the hall that facilitated the elevator and a few utility rooms, quietly closing the door behind him.   
  
“Sorry for dropping by in the middle of the night. I just heard Darcy was here, and wanted to see if she was okay.”  
  
“No, no. Looks like we all have to be in to work early given... circumstances. I was going to wake her up in an hour or so for breakfast. She...uh, had a rough night. But she’s fine.” He read the worry on Jane’s face and she didn’t look convinced. Bruce swallowed nervously.  
  
“I had to be debriefed by Coulson when we got in last night. He said Darcy’s been falling asleep at work? What’s wrong?”  
  
“We don’t really know. She’s having nightmares and night terrors. It could be stress or anxiety. She’s seeing a therapist, but she says it doesn’t help.”  
  
“How are things going otherwise?”  
  
Bruce smiled as he reflected on their ‘talk’. “It’s... good.”  
  
“How good?” Jane raised a brow.  
  
“It’s fine.” Bruce smiled.  
  
“You’re dating my best friend and it’s only fine?”  
  
“Where’s Thor?” Bruce grinned, blocking the doorway. Jane smirked back at him.  
  
“Off with the bigwigs of SHIELD. He’s a liason of Asgard, so he’s...” Jane nodded her head from side to side. “In a lot of trouble. I just hate it how he’s responsible for Loki. Thor, of course, thinks he is too...” She sighed.  
  
“I’m sorry your visit was cut short.”  
  
“Oh I don’t mind much.” Jane waved her hand in the air. “It was _really_ exhausting. Cool, and... amazing, but a royal pain. Literally.”  
  
“Darcy can’t wait to hear all about it. She’s been missing you every single day.”  
  
“I’ve missed her so much. She just has a way of making a home in your heart.”  
  
“She really does.” Bruce said fondly.  
  
“Have you slept?” Jane asked suspiciously.  
  
Bruce hesitated before shaking his head.  
  
“How are you not exhausted?”  
  
“Well, I’m used to it. When I was on the run, there were times I could only sleep an hour or two at a t--” Bruce was cut off by a loud scream coming from within his unit. The two quickly exchanged worried looks before Bruce moved as fast as he could back inside, swinging the door wide open. Jane followed after him and they found Darcy sitting up on the couch, clinging a pillow to her chest, shaking.  
  
“Jane? Jane!” Darcy leapt up from the couch and nearly knocked Jane off her feet as she ran into her arms. Jane clutched her and rubbed her back, reassuring her. Bruce hovered awkwardly, moving to the kitchen. He filled two glasses with water and returned to find them sitting on the couch.  
  
“Thanks.” Darcy said as she took the glass of water in her hands and sipped on it. She looked incredibly exhausted. He was worried.  
  
“Is this that expensive water Stark imported?” Jane took a tentative taste as Darcy shook her head.  
  
“What time is it?” Darcy yawned.  
  
“A little past five. Coulson texted. He wants everyone in for an early meeting and then some preliminary work on looking for Loki. In the meantime, I can make breakfast.”  
  
Darcy nodded into her cup of water as Jane said she would appreciate it. The two set off to talking all about the time they spent apart. He could pick up on most of it from the kitchen as he unloaded food from the fridge and turned on the stove.  He didn’t want to feel like he was listening on them. Instead, he focused on Loki. He was missing, but why? He could have just escaped capture to be away from Asgard once and for all, but why would he stay in capture for going on five months and suddenly leave once Jane arrived? Thor had reported that Loki owed the Chitauri a debt. Why would he risk endangering himself when he was safe in Asgard? He was sure that Loki was given minimal punishment under Thor’s watch.  Something had to have set Loki off. Something had to be worth it to Loki.  
  
“Fandral told me he _bids you regard_.” Jane giggled.  
  
“Yeah, well, Fandral needs to not flirt with me.” Darcy muttered.  
  
“Why does it smell like popcorn in here?”  
  
“Last night we had Clint and Natasha over. Man, they’re so cool.”  
  
“Making friends. Aww, they grow up so fast.”  
  
“Breakfast is ready.” Bruce called out. The two moved into the kitchen with him and picked at the prepared bacon and french toast. He handed Darcy a cup of coffee with extra sugar, just the way she liked it.  
  
“You’re the best.” Darcy said and kissed his cheek.   
  
The first time Loki attacked, it was devastating. As a result, tens of thousands of people died. While Bruce was sympathetic and appalled at the damage and destruction, for the first time in a long time, he had something to lose. Someone precious.   
  
After the meeting, Bruce returned to the lab. There wasn’t much for him to do personally. Jane was busy examining the Bifrost Modification for tampering or use, while Darcy was filing paperwork for Coulson and mitigating phone calls. Tony was searching military database files with the help of Colonel Rhodes while Clint stayed on SHIELD security. Natasha was meeting and contacting SHIELD allies from other countries. Everything else went to Steve, who was consulting with Director Fury. With Thor busy trying to play Asgard representative and Loki-expert, it left Bruce with little responsibility. He would get emails in from coworkers asking to run scans or ask for advice, but the tests ran themselves. He knew what he was really needed for, and the small anklet he wore was a constant reminder of what SHIELD thought of him.  
  
But then his Skype window pinged.  
  
Darcy L.: Don’t think I can do lunch today. Scratch that, I don’t think *anyone* can do lunch today. I hope work is going well, and thanks for last night  <3\. My boyfriend rocks. 1:17 P.M.  
  
Bruce smiled as he regarded the message, pausing to think of a response.  
  
B.Banner: We’ll do dinner tonight if you want. I’ve been thinking more on what we can do about your sleep. I think if you start taking valerian root, you might have an easier time getting restful sleep. I can try to work it into a smoothie or we can stop by the store. Also, fish oil, vitamin D, and tryptophan can work to improve neurotransmitter function.  
  
Re: work. It’s a little slow on my end. I have a feeling they’ll call if Loki needs a good thrashing though.  
  
And I’m glad last night got better and I’m glad you were able to see Jane a little earlier than expected (even if it was under bad circumstances). 1:23 P.M.  
  
Darcy L.: I’m not depressed. >:l I’m fine. Maybe this sleep thing will blow over now that Jane is back. She’s magic like that. Did you get the Halloween party email going around? I think it’s getting lost in all the “a god has come to wreck our shit” memos. 1:25 P.M.  
  
Bruce scrolled through his emails when he saw the skype button flash again.  
  
Darcy L.: Please be calm. Everything is going to be okay. 1:25 P.M.  
  
His brows furrowed in confusion, trying to understand what she meant. He readied a response and set his fingers on the keys when the room flashed red. Sirens blared as the room flashed its emergency lights that lined the edges of the walls. He saw people rush through the halls shouting. This wasn’t a drill... but how did Darcy know before it happened?  
  
“Darcy.” He whispered as he rushed up from his seat. He flung the door open from the lab as someone collided with him. The intern looked up at him wide-eyed.  
  
“What’s happening?”  
  
“Something’s going on in administration and logistics. They pulled the alarm and now they’re getting everyone out of the building.” The boy scrambled up and pushed his way down the hall.  
  
An agent rushed by with a walkie clipped to her waist. On the other end, he heard Coulson’s voice. “We have a hostage situation on Floor 33. Agents with clearance 7 and up are required on Floor 33. Repeat, a hostage situation--”  
  
Bruce’s blood ran cold. That was Darcy’s floor! For a moment, his head spun as anger flushed him.  
  
 _Please be calm. Everything is going to be okay._  
  
He shook as he remembered her message. He had to get up there. Shoving past agents and scientists, he reached the elevator. He slammed his palm against the buttons and waited. And waited. He turned and pushed open the staircase and began to jog up it. There were over fifty floors between them. After four floors, he moved back into the main hall, just in time to catch the elevator open.  
  
“You’re not an agent.” A man in blue replied stiffly.  
  
“The hell I am. I’m an Avenger.” Bruce replied and hit the button labeled _33._ The elevator couldn’t move fast enough.  
  
When he reached Darcy’s floor, everything was chaos. The lights and sirens seemed to flash louder and brighter, and he was doing everything he could not to lose focus. An arm gripped him and stopped him as he made his way to Darcy’s office.  
  
“I’m afraid I can’t let you go any further, Doctor Banner.” Coulson said. “In fact, I would advise you to leave unless you want to compromise the safety of everyone in this building.”  
  
“I’m just looking for Darcy. Then I’ll go.” He said, but Coulson only kept the firm stare.  
  
“Doctor Banner.” He repeated, his voice more empathetic.  
Bruce could see Darcy’s office ahead, but the blinds were drawn shut and the door locked. Her office was the only one surrounded, though everyone was kept at a pace of five feet from the door as if separately by an invisible line.  
  
“Just give him the data.” Coulson spoke into his walkie, his voice resounding outside Darcy’s office. The agent, he recognized was the defector from HYDRA that he met last month, looked directly back at him. She held up her walkie, and her voice moved into Coulson’s.  
  
“Can’t get it to him, Sir. Last agent who tried passed out after he crossed the line.”  
  
“Loki has Darcy?” Bruce was barely able to breathe, but the words managed to escape him. He could feel his heart pound against his chest.  
  
“We’ll resolve it. He’s just after the data on Doctor Foster’s project. Agent Lopez has the flash drive but we can’t deliver it.”  
  
“I’ll take it.” He said.  
  
“It’s too dangerous. If he finds out you’re here, Darcy will be in even more danger.” Coulson replied.  
  
“Sorry.” Bruce muttered before shoving past Coulson and the other agents as gracefully as he could.  
  
“Banner!” He heard shouted from behind him. Agents moved, stepping back from him as they realized who he was, creating a clear path to the agents that surrounded her office. He approached Agent Lopez, and held open his palm.  
  
“I’ll take it from here.” He said as calmly as he could. On the inside, he was a tangled mess of violent rage. The woman hesitated before looking to Coulson and then slipping the USB drive into Bruce’s palm. He took in a breath.  
  
“Where’s Thor?”  
  
“On his way.” She replied.  
  
“You all might want to get back.” He threw cursory glances to the agents around him, who shuffled backwards. Clenching the USB in his hand, he looked down to the invisible line drawn in the floor and stepped across it. Nothing happened. It then took only seconds for him to open the door to her office and step inside. The door slammed shut behind him, but not by his doing.   
  
“Bruce.” Darcy whimpered. A small glistening piece of black metal was pointed at her throat. “It’s okay. It’s okay.” Loki stood behind her at her desk, his other hand gripped at her arm as he held her in place.  
  
“So nice of you to join us, at last.” Loki regarded him. The sight of him caused Bruce to shake. The sirens that blared and lights that flashed only made him dizzier as he stared down Loki. The last time he saw Loki as a threat, was in the airship. Loki had outsmarted him, manipulated him, and had caused him to lose himself. Now he was right in Loki’s trap again, holding his girlfriend.  
  
“Bruce.” Darcy repeated. “Focus, please.” She whispered, tilting her head away from Loki’s weapon.  
  
“You know the last time we met, it didn’t exactly end well for you.” Bruce said.  
  
“ _Ooh_ , a threat? Oh by all means then, fight me. Come at me, with everything you have.” Loki mocked with an ever-present smirk on his features.  
  
“You stop using her as a shield, and I’d be more than happy.”  
  
“What would you do, if I spilled her blood?” Loki looked down at Darcy, pressing the dagger to her neck. “Do you think she would scream? Cry? Or do you think she would beg you to not murder everyone in this building in your blind rage as she was bleeding out and taking her last breath?”  
  
“Doctor Banner!” He heard Coulson shout from outside the office. Loki chuckled.  
  
“Still treating you like their pet. Do you come when you’re called? Do they keep you on a short leash? Do they give you a treat,” Loki glanced down to Darcy, “For good behavior?”  
  
Bruce clenched his jaw as he breathed through his nose. He grunted as he struggled to keep it together, but he knew that Loki was well aware that he had the advantage, slowly unraveling him until there was nothing left but the other guy. He managed to pull his glare from Loki, his glance meeting Darcy’s eyes.  
  
 _Don’t leave me, Bruce._ She said to him last night. Her eyes begged him, even know.  
  
“Let her go, and the data is yours. You don’t need her.”  
  
Loki smiled and the dagger disappeared, extending his palm outward towards Bruce. It was too easy, he thought, but what choice did he have? Bruce took a step forward, clutching the   
drive in his hand, feeling the plastic drive into his sweaty palm.  
  
“How about a fair trade.” Bruce stepped forward again, holding his free hand out to motion for Darcy. Loki looked down at Darcy before pushing her forward. She stumbled in front of him and Bruce tossed the drive into Loki’s hand. Darcy ran forward into Bruce’s arms and vanished. Suddenly, she was right where she had been standing, in Loki’s grip, but now he held the drive in his hand.  
  
“You should trust your instincts, monster. Thank you for your gracious offer, but fair has never been a word I’m familiar with.” Loki smirked as he planted a kiss to Darcy’s forehead and vanished from the office completely, taking Darcy with him.  
  
She was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

  
  
She dreamt a long and dreamless sleep. It was dark, quiet, and consuming. _It feels like falling_ , she thought, before that too, slipped away from her. She didn’t pine for Jane. There was no worry about Bruce. Her words never caught in her throat when she tried to speak up to her coworkers. She didn’t have to work. She didn’t have to feel. It was effortless to stay this way. But this was not the choice Darcy would have made for herself.  
  
When she woke up, it was dark. She found herself sprawled across a thin, bare mattress. Grey sheets tangled across her feet. Shivering, she reached for them and pulled them over her body. She wanted to sink back into her quiet sleep, and the chill that enclosed around her made her long for that comforting darkness. Pressing her cheek against the mattress, the memories slowly filtered back to her. It felt so far away that it could have been a dream.  
  
She was messaging Bruce when she looked up, and suddenly he was _there._ Loki stood at the end of her office, striding towards her with a smirk. She had seen him in videos, photos, files, and even in children’s books. But the god was real and here.  
  
“Go on. Sound the alarms.” He smiled. Darcy stared up at him and he nodded at her. She tensed up in fear, and with shaking hands pulled up her skype window to Bruce.  
  
 _Please be calm. Everything will be okay._  
  
She moved her hand to her bag, where her taser lay, but her bag suddenly _disappeared._  
  
“Now, Miss Lewis. That’s cheating.” Suddenly Loki was beside her. Her desk drawer opened itself as the small plexiglass box was opened without its key. Then the button was pressed. Her office blinds shut and her computer shut down. Everything happened so fast and so easily was she swept up into Loki’s grasp. She could hear the agents yelling for her outside her office, as Loki whispered what to say into her ear.  
  
“Do you know who I am? Who my boyfriend is? Who my best friends are?” Darcy struggled. “I haven’t slept in five days and I am _not_ in the mood.” She locked her knees together as she tried to drop her weight forward, but he wouldn’t budge. Not even Natasha’s self-defense strategies worked. He held her perfectly in place, and she was running out of options. “How are you so heavy for a skinny guy?” She groaned.  
  
“It’s a shame you’re making me out to be a villain.” He sighed behind her, tightening his grip on her as a cool, sharp blade pressed against her neck.  
  
“They can’t get in.” She huffed.  
  
“Oh, but I’m not waiting on _them_. We’re waiting on your prince.” He hissed into her ear. She had never heard his voice before, but it sounded so familiar to her.  
  
“I don’t need to be saved.” Darcy leaned back and bashed her head as hard as she could against Loki’s face. She groaned as she fell limp in his arms. Somewhere, sometime, Bruce called her name as she sunk into the darkness.  
  
Darcy gasped as she sat up in bed, clutching the thin sheets to her chest.  
  
“You’re awake.” The god of mischief said as he stood in the corner of the room, arms crossed.  
  
“And you’re real.” Darcy shivered, looking around the room.  
  
“Oh, yes.” Loki smiled.  
  
“What happened?” She reached up to gingerly brush her fingers against the back of her head, feeling the large bump. She winced as Loki chuckled. Pulling back the sheet, she could see that she was still in her work clothes, black slacks and grey sweater. She pulled on her white blouse underneath and wiggled her toes inside her boots. Physically, the only difference was the bruise on her head and the black, digital watch around her wrist. She examined it. It read 5:14 pm.  
  
“You attempted to fight me, and you failed. Though I must admit, it was quite amusing. Banner didn’t notice that you had knocked yourself unconscious by the time he arrived, but being a _god_ has it’s advantages.” He stepped to the left to reveal a mirror image of herself. Tearfully, she cried out Bruce’s name before vanishing.  
  
“Cute.” She rolled her eyes. “As much as I love your shenanigans and theatrics, do you mind explaining why I’m A, wearing a watch, B, in some sort of creepy murder shack?” The room was small, its bed the only piece of furniture. The room was half the size of her office, and completely made of wood. A single window was opposite of her, but shutters were drawn over it from the outside.  
  
“I’m in the need of an assistant. Here is my offer, and my _only_ offer. You can be my assistant, which comes with privileges and allowances, or you can be my hostage. You will fulfill your duties by the time allotted, and you’ll be rewarded. If you disobey me, you will be punished. Do you accept, Darcy Lewis, of Midgard?”  
  
She gaped at him. The pain of her headache made her thoughts slow and disoriented. She wondered if she almost gave herself a concussion by headbutting him. She wanted to jump up and punch him, but she was sure that would end with a broken hand. She needed to buy time. Surely they were searching for her. Not just Bruce, but Thor, and Jane, and Clint, Natasha. Even Tony and Steve and Coulson and Fury. They _had_ to be looking for her, or at least looking for Loki.  
  
“I need time to think.” She swung her legs off the bed, the wooden panels creaking against her feet. Why couldn’t have Loki chosen someplace more extravagant to fit his personality? His royal regalia and horns contrasted sharply with the decor, or lack-there-of. She cradled her head in her hands as she leaned forward. Her stomach twisted into knots as she realize she was standing in a room with a global terrorist and mass murderer. A god with a vengeance who threatened to kill everyone she cared about. And now he wanted her as an assistant?  
  
Loki’s exaggerated sigh interrupted her thoughts. “I thought I was being merciful. I suppose not. I can just as easily twist your arm instead of offering compromise. Your precious Jane Foster is--”  
  
“I accept!” Darcy immediately shouted as she heard Jane’s name. He could have said anything, but hearing Jane’s name coming from his lips was utterly unbearable.  When she saw Loki’s grin wickedly displayed, she knew she had made a pact with the devil. Holding up his hand, a quilted blanket appeared. He tossed it at Darcy, who caught it and brought it to her body. She was freezing cold. How had he known? Before she could think of what she had agreed to, he stepped from the room.  
  
“Dinner is at six.” She heard the door lock.  
  
Darcy ran across the room and grabbed at the locked door, twisting the knobbed handle and shaking the door. There was a lock across the other side, but she was sure it was also sealed by magic. It didn’t stop her from being full of frustration and fear and horror. She kicked at door, pulled on it, and thrust her shoulder against it until her body was exhausted. She screamed obscenities at him, made up permutations and combinations of insults that would have normally sounded ridiculous, but she didn’t care. But when the tears welled up in her eyes, she could feel the strain and tiredness that her body forbeared, and she retreated to the thin mattress bed. She wrapped the forest green quilt around herself, and buried her face into the bed and begged it all to stop.  
  
She wanted her stuff. Her taser, her clothes, her phone, her ipod, her bag. She wanted to be at home, in her bed, curled up under her fluffy throw rug and eat cookie dough and watch mindless television. She wanted to gossip with Jane. She wanted to be wrapped up in Bruce’s arms, to feel his lips against her lips, and his comforting whispers in her ear.  She wanted it badly, worse than she had ever wanted anything before, because for the first time, she didn’t know if she would ever have those things again.  
But after what felt like hours of mental anguish, she looked at the watch Loki had placed on her wrist. It read half past five. Trying her best to be calm, she focused instead on what she knew, and what she didn’t know. She knew that people would be looking for her, even if Loki created so many illusions. They would know, she told herself. Secondly, Loki needed her alive, and for a reason. His first thought was to threaten Jane, and for good reason; Darcy crumbled near instantly just by the mention of her. But that also meant that he knew he could do little to her. He _needed_ her, and that gave her some leverage of power. It also meant, for better or for worse, she was safe with him. If he wanted to torture her, he could have, instead of offering a reward system. It would have been easier to just threaten or hurt her to do as she wished, especially to Loki, who had no care as to the safety of mortals.  
  
If he needed an assistant, it meant Loki couldn’t do something, that she could. She didn’t know _what_ Loki was and wasn’t capable of. She could only guess. When it came to Thor, she knew he was pretty useless at getting around the planet, but Loki was smarter. Loki spent _one day_ on the planet and nearly destroyed it, playing SHIELD for fools. But Loki had also employed hundreds of people to help him. The technology that he had during his takeover had been confiscated--Darcy had no idea where, but few did. Besides, Jane and Thor reported that the tesseract, and its weaponry were still in Asgard. Loki had many tricks, but collecting slaves was not one of them. She wondered if he employed the help of anyone else, but if she was the only one, why her? She knew all of the Avengers and Jane, sure, but so did Erik Selvig. Darcy had more power within SHIELD than Erik, but so did countless other agents.   
  
Her watch beeped at exactly six o’clock, and she could hear the door unlock. She reluctantly left the warm quilt behind her as she muttered to herself, “Time for Fifty Shades of Loki.”  
  
There was a hallway in front of her. _Of course there is_ , she thought, but she honestly half expected the door to lead to a dark pit or the center of space or another realm. Loki was a disney villain incarnate, and she wasn’t about to underestimate him. Putting her foot in front of her, she tested the floor. Like the other wooden panels, this one creaked. Down the hallway, she heard what sounded like furniture scraping across wood and glass clinking against glass. Her watch beeped again to remind her of the time, and the sounds down the hall stopped. When she reached the end of the narrow hall, she stood before the remainder of the building. It was incredibly small, smaller than her apartment, she realized. There was a very small kitchen, and then a living room. Like the room she woke up in, there was a single window closed shut. Across from her, was the door. But between her and the door, was Loki.  
  
He sat at a small wooden table. The table was old, small, and like everything else, wooden. He seemed giant in comparison to it, but also rich. In a perfectly clean black suit and green tie, he held a wine glass in his hand. Before him, was elegant dinnerware: two empty plates, silverware, and four glasses. The two closest to her were empty, but his were filled with wine and water. Since she entered the room, his green eyes had been set on her, never moving. She tried to disregard the creepy stare as best as she could.  
  
“If I had known there was a dress code, I would have gotten kidnapped in something fancier.” She pulled up the chair opposite of him and sat. It wobbled as she pulled it up to the table, its legs uneven. She bet _his_ chair didn’t wobble.  
  
“Get up.” He sipped from the wine and set it down.    
  
“Why?” Maybe he would get her a new chair, she thought, but with a lazy wave of his hand, the chair disappeared from underneath her. In less than a second, she landed against the floor with a loud _thud,_ pain shooting from the already sore spot on her head, and now, her butt. She groaned as she rolled over to her side. “Good to see your two thousand years have cumulated into maturity.” She pulled herself to her feet and stood in time to see him wave his hand again. She looked behind her, her wobbly chair still missing. She turned back to him.  
  
“Rude.” She mouthed. Only, she didn’t mean to mouth it, she meant to say it. She tried again, but to no avail. She realized what he had done, and she sucked in a breath.  
  
“I must have missed that. Come again?” He smiled up at her. She reminded herself that if she punched him, she would only be hurting herself. But she really wanted to punch him.  
  
“Much better.” He sighed with satisfaction. “In the future, you will ask to be seated and not flop into your chair like some sort of primitive beast. I assume you have many questions.” He pulled a tablecloth from the air and set it on his lap. “Some of which you may receive answer to, but the validity of those answers is...debatable. You may sit.” Suddenly the chair reappeared behind her, pushing into the back of her knees until she caved and was forced to sit. He didn’t miss her expression, but she was nonetheless glad he didn’t get the satisfaction of her cry of surprise.  
  
“From now on, you will ask if you may be seated, and ask if you may be excused. I assume that basic manners have not been lost on modern mortals?” She gave him a dubious look, but shook her head.  “Excellent. Now that you’ve accepted my offer, the work will come in time. In the meantime, you will attend mealtimes with me at nine, noon, and six, every day. You’ll find I can be very kind.”  
  
She threw him the most skeptical of looks, raising her brow. He sighed.  
  
“Miss Lewis, my hospitality extends as far as you accept it.” He picked up his silverware as the food appeared on both of their plates. Various fruits and vegetables a buttered loaf of bread filled the large plate. Her wine glass filled with a deep red wine, and her spare glass filled with water. Her stomach growled as she looked at the food. She missed lunch whenever she was awake last. Had it been only a few hours? Or over a day? The time on the watch could be completely wrong, or she could be in another timezone. But despite being hungry, she didn’t trust his so-called hospitality in the least.  
  
“Eat.” He prompted, pointing casually with his knife. He cut into his potatoes and gracefully placed the fork in his mouth. She remembered when Thor ate an entire box of poptarts and then half the cafe’s brunch menu. The memory was eclipsed by sadness, wondering when she would ever see them again.  
  
“You may speak.” He said.  
  
“I’m not hungry.” She lied. Maybe it was childish, she thought, but it was nowhere near the childish attitude of Loki’s. She accepted his ‘offer’, but only because she had to. There was no declining him, but it didn’t mean she had to eat when he told her to eat. He slowly set down his silverware.  
  
“You may wonder what I wanted with the data on the Bifrost Modification that Doctor Foster was doing.” He said. She noted the smirk when her eyes immediately met his. She could tell he was running her in circles, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was too frustrated and too tired to care. But she could care about Jane.  
  
“Are you going to hurt people?”  
  
“Not unless I have to. You see, Miss Lewis,” He pressed his fork into his food and took a bite, savoring the taste. “I once felt I was right to rule. When I ruled Asgard, I was a _good_ king. Despite what tales my brother has spun, I _saved_ the Allfather. I ended the war my brother began, and my kingdom was as safe as it had ever been. When I attempted to rule your realm, it was for humanity’s good. Yes, there was a loss of life, and that is truly regrettable. Though, I ask you this, is that loss of life any greater than anything a mortal may have caused? Your people cause countless wars to feed your rich. Your people _exploit, torture, and kill_ , because they _can._ ”  
  
“You didn’t bring me here to debate the ethics of _agency_.”  
  
“No.” He chuckled. “I am merely illustrating that if you paint me as a villain, a villain I shall become. However, I assure you, my intentions are just.”  
  
“Well you know what they say about good intentions.” Darcy quipped.  
  
“What do they say?”  
  
“Jurassic Park.”  
  
She was sure the reference was lost on him, as he continued. “You will come to understand, in time. For now, you are my honored guest.”  
  
“Yeah, see, the thing about that is guests can leave when they want.”  
  
“Out of all the people I could have chosen, I have chosen you. Isn’t that nice?”  
  
“Not really.”  
  
“Are you normally this ungrateful?” He asked.  
  
“No,” She sat up. “I’m just normally intolerant of kidnapping.”  
  
“You really should eat.”  
  
“I’m not hungry.” She repeated.  
  
“What do you think you’ll do? Simply avoid what I require of you until your heroes arrive? Oh, they are looking, I assure you, but they will not find you here.”  
  
“You can’t keep this up forever.”  
  
“Oh, but I _can_.” He slammed his hands down on the table, causing her to jump. “I am infinitely more powerful than you. This is not _your game, Miss Lewis._ It is mine, and you will do as I say, without question and without complaint. I could keep you here until you _rot_ and _die,_ and no one would ever find you, not even your beloved _monster._ ”  
  
“May I be excused?” She asked as flatly as she could.  
  
“You will sit in silence until I have finished eating, then you may.” The rest of the dinner dragged on as Loki ate his dinner. He ate slowly, and meticulously, and Darcy wondered if he was doing it to spite her. When he was finished with his food, her plate moved across the table to sit on his, and he began to eat. Sometimes he paused to wipe the tablecloth across his lips, and glance to her, smiling.  
  
When he was finished, she returned to bed, hungry. The door locked behind her when she realized the warm quilt was gone.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm super excited to write the sequel fic. I hope you guys like it! Updates/chapters/story will be longer and more plot-intricate this time around due to a certain does-what-he-wants god. Also, if you know my storytelling style from my last story, you know its kind of plotty and paced. 
> 
> My goals for the overall story is to explore intimacy, the story after the kind of "happy ending", and the problems that could be faced in a superhero relationship.
> 
> Thank you to psychollama, koaryn, and FYDL/usedkarma of tumblr. 
> 
> This is my second multi-chapter fic. Feedback is vital. 
> 
> -V


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